The Devil
by thebestofall
Summary: MASSIVE AU:(Alternate Universe) Perseus is the son of Kronos and Rhea. He was condemned to rule Tartarus by Zeus. He soon became known as The Devil. When the threat of Kronos rising looms over, what does he do. Help the Olympians, or watch them suffer.
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

 _The gods aren't always fair. Not all of them at least. Especially Zeus._

 _To tell the truth. There were always seven children of Kronos. The youngest, of course, was Zeus...or was he._

 _After the gods defeated their father, Kronos. They drew lots to decide who would be the rulers of the skies, the seas and the heavens. The earth was neutral territory._

 _Zeus got the skies, Poseidon got the seas and Hades was to rule the Underworld._

 _The seventh child, brother of the big three, was soon forgotten by most of the world. His name had no mention in the myths and he wasn't given any power. His name was Perseus...but most people nowadays know him as Lucifer, The Devil._

 _Perseus was remembered by christians as The Devil, and of course, most reasons why gods grow powerful is due to mortals' worship. So, over time, Perseus became very very powerful. After all, millions of people knew his name. Well not his real name but the name they had given him. He like it. It had a nice ring to it._

 _But he never forgot his real name. And frankly, even preferred it. He found it odd that he had lived for so many millennia, only to change his name when mortals remembered him as someone else._

 _He mused about his past as he sat on his red and black throne and watched the monsters of the pit inflict pain upon the damned._

 _A loud rumbling was heard. The pit shook with tremors. Almost as of something...or someone was trying to escape._

 _A demon approached him. "My Lord. Tis' your father again. He is gaining strength from his followers. In a few years he may escape. The prison will not hold."_

 _Perseus leaned over to glance at the demon. He wondered what idiot would think about helping Kronos to rise. He smiled. Oh he was going to personally torture that soul._

 _"Double the defences. And double the guards. Keep attacking his essence. Scatter it further.". He then stood from his throne to his full height._

 _The demon looked at him inquisitively. "Where are you going master?"_

 _He glared at the demon harshly. "Where I go is none of your business!"_

 _The demon cowered in fear. He really didn't want to anger his master._

 _Perseus' eyes softened a little. "If you must know, I will be paying my dear brother a little visit."._

 _With that, he erupted into a column of hot red flames._


	2. What a Perv!

**Hello people. Just wanted to inform you guys one small thing. The demigods in this story are older than in the books. As of this chapter, Annabeth and Thalia are basically the same age. They both are fifteen and almost turning sixteen. The OC I am using will also be the same age.**

 **The concept for this story suddenly occurred to me when I was watching the T.V Show** ** _Lucifer_** **. I do recommend you guys to watch it too. It's too good.**

 **'thebestofall over and out!'**

* * *

 **Hell on Earth**

 _Maine - 2008_

The demigods were honestly having the shittiest time of their lives. Annabeth and Thalia really felt pity for the mother of the retard they had to sit with.

The boy was an utter waste. While he could fight decently, he was the most arrogant and idiotic person they had never met. It didn't help that he was also a child of the big three. Meaning that, if he wanted, Annabeth could get in serious trouble. Though she seriously doubted that. Lord Poseidon had always been good to her after all, considering who her mother was. She was rather surprised and felt guilty for judging her mother's rival so quickly just because...he was her mother's rival!

She drummed her fingers on her lap as she thought about the mission. Grover had frantically begged her to come to the hall. Apparently he had hit a road-block on one of his missions. So they immediately packed their bags and now headed over to Westover Hall.

She looked out of the window. She remembered the first time she had been to the outside world. It had been for a quest to retrieve Zeus' Master Bolt. Derek(the son of Poseidon) and Grover had come along with her. She remembered how horribly arrogant the son of Poseidon had been, marching up to Hades and demanding the bolt.

Of course, the next few minutes were spent with Hades playing whack-a-mole with the Derek's face. Needless to say, Derek never ever said a word about Hades after that. She didn't mind though. It had brought down his arrogance slightly.

She didn't even want to think of the time when she had to drag him to help Clarisse retrieve the Golden Fleece. She basically had to do all the work. She didn't understand why it was so hard for him to control water when they were in a yacht...IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.

Eventually though, he had helped out by steering the boat clear of the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. He wasn't THAT bad at times, but she still didn't want to have to do anything with him. So why did she let him come with her? Simple. His mom.

His mother, Sally LeBeau, was one of the kindest people she had ever met. She was fairly nice and treated Annabeth nicely. The same couldn't be said for her son. Derek was a pervert, to say the least. She had caught him multiple times staring at her cleavage and her ass. He would also try to grope her on multiple occasions. It sickened her. The way he would touch her ass when no-one was looking and _try_ to get her to have sex with him. It wasn't just her. He tried it with several girls at camp. Even at his mortal school. Though the mortals tended to fall for him.

It wasn't that he was ugly or anything. Far from it actually. It's just that she didn't like the way he saw her. She knew that to him, she was a sex object that he was unable to obtain. She hated being objectified like that. Any girl would.

Today though, he didn't try anything because of one reason. That reason's name was Thalia. The daughter of Zeus would zap his ass with electricity whenever he came too close for comfort. Annabeth was glad for that. Another reason was that his own mother was sitting right there. It would be rather awkward for him.

The woman was animatedly talking about her son's embarrassing childhood stories, to which the both of them cracked up, just to infuriate the son of Poseidon, who claimed that he had never cried before in his life.

Annabeth nearly snorted at that. Yeah sure. Derek being manly would mean the end of the world.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun. "

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Okay girls! We're here!". Sally announced.

Annabeth and Thalia chorused their thank you's to a now amused Sally who was smirking at her son's red face. She then proceeded to ask her son about whether he had everything with him and whether he had his phone number.

"Demigods don't use phones mom!"

The trio headed to the front entrance of the school, where the security guard had stopped them, asking for their IDs. Of course, a little mist trick from Thalia ensured that nobody questioned their presence in the school. They then pushed the huge wooden double doors and stepped inside.

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. mean, Annabeth knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

Derek's hand went to his pocket, where he kept his lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. He could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favourite magic item. He knew they both were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where-"

The doors slammed shut behind them.

"Oo-kay, " Derek mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile. "

Annabeth could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music. They stashed their overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall.

They hadn't gone very far when Thalia heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them. They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to her. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um... ". Derek realised he hadn't planned for this. He'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, he hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. They hadn't talked at all in the car about how they would get inside.

He said, "Ma'am, we're just-"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made them jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!". He had an accent-French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colours, one brown, one blue-like an alley cat's.

Derek figured he was about to toss them into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something that looked very weird to him.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of them, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir, " Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Derek. We're in the eighth grade. "

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. He didn't know what Thalia was thinking. He wanted to slap her. Now they'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger they were in, Annabeth had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... Yes. I believe I do, sir. " She frowned at them. "Annabeth. Thalia. Derek. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before they could answer, they heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You-"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh-"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover.

"What do you mean, they made it? These students live here. "

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... The punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Dr. Thorn glared at them. Thalia decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch them off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

They didn't wait to be told twice. They left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music. They could feel the teachers' eyes on their backs, but Derek walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"

"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

An uncomfortable lump formed in his throat. Chiron was their head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown him anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not him? Of course, Chiron knew that he would misuse it a lot, but Derek didn't understand that.

Grover hurried them to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with their dyslexia, they could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Derek gave him a big high five to which Grover reluctantly complied.

Annabeth and Thalia though it was good to see him after so many months. From their perspective he'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human, red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves.

He was wearing a black T-shirt that took them a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. Derek wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"So what's the emergency?" Annabeth asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. They were losing campers. They needed all the new fighters they could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister, " he said. "They're eleven and fifteen. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help. "

"Monsters?" Annabeth asked.

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. Derek felt very upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to him for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of them with fending off monsters in the real world.

He started to hate Thalia. Every time she showed up, his chances with Annabeth dwindled massively. Not that he had any chance in the first place, but to him she was a setback. She was one of the few campers who saw right through his facade and knew his egotistical self.

"Right, " she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance, " Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh, " Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

Thalia noticed a weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. She guessed it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face.

Thalia sighed. This was exactly the type of dance she hated to go to. "There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo".

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at Thalia, and she nodded. She'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but she knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," Annabeth said.

She started forward, but Thalia put her hand on her shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, Annabeth guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who they were. He was just waiting to see why they were here.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy." Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Annabeth smiled.

"What?" Derek asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."

Derek scowled in Thalia's direction. He didn't find it 'cool' that Thalia was back. Thalia had stuck to Annabeth's side at every possible opportunity and due to that it was impossible for Derek to make his move. He looked at Annabeth, and thought it would be a good opportunity.

She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason. He licked his lips as he gave her body a once-over and tried to discreetly look at her breasts, which had grown larger than he last seen. Blame puberty.

The truth was he was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. He'd been hoping to see her more often, alone preferably. It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and he was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, He hardly ever saw them.

Yeah, uh, cool," He said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to them. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike Derek, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

He looked at Annabeth with a proud gleam in his eye, then at Grover and Thalia.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Come one babe. A dance!". Derek said. It was surprising to see the amount of difference his conversation with Annabeth was alone as opposed to with Thalia around.

Annabeth however looked disgusted. "I'm not your girlfriend. Never was, never will be."

So they went onto the dance floor, and Derek looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things, and to make sure Thalia didn't see anything. He put one hand on Annabeth's hip, intentionally going lower than required so he could feel part of her ass, and she clasped his other hand like she was about to judo throw him.

"Don't even think about-" Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."

"What?"

He followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

She ran through the crowd. He was about to follow when a mob of girls got in his way. He maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time he was free, Annabeth had disappeared. he turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, he saw something that chilled his blood.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then he caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.

He still couldn't see Annabeth, but he knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover.

He almost ran after her, and then he thought, Wait.

He remembered what Thalia had said to him in the entry hall, looking at him all puzzled when he asked about the finger-snap trick: 'Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?' He thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

He really resented Thalia. Annabeth had said many times that it wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention… Still, he didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time he found his 'friends'. He knew monsters. He could handle this himself.

He took Riptide out of his pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

The door led into a dark hallway. He heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. Like an idiot he uncapped Riptide.

The pen grew in his hands until held held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

He jogged down the corridor, but when he got to the other end, no one was there. He opened a door and found himself back in the main entry hall. He completely turned around. He didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at him.

He advanced slowly, lowering the tip of his sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.

"My name's Derek," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did he realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of him. She was trying to warn him. If it wasn't for the situation, Derek would have most definitely taken advantage of the girl, seeing the position she was in. But he didn't think of it much at the moment.

He whirled around and something went WHISH! Pain exploded in his shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked him backward and slammed him to the wall.

He slashed with his sword but there was nothing to hit. A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Derek LeBeau." Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled his last name. "I know who you are."

He tried to free his shoulder. His coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of his shoulder as it passed through his clothes, and the cut burned. He'd felt something like this before. Poison.

He forced himself to concentrate. He would not pass out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward them. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of his sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."

Derek tried to swing his sword again, but he was just out of reach.

WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.

Next to him, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

Derek didn't know what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he knew he was very fast.

He thought that he could defend himself if he could get his shield activated. All that it would take was a touch of his wrist-watch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. He needed help, and there was only one way he get it. Sadly, his 'friends' were nowhere to be seen.

Derek closed his eyes.

"What are you doing, boy?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"

He opened his eyes and kept shuffling forward. "It's my shoulder," he wailed, sounding miserable. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn in-arched them into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. Derek's shoulder ached. The wind blowing through his ripped clothes was so cold that he felt like a Derek-sicle.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way.'" Nico said. His voice quivered, but Derek was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human.

"Halt," Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. They'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, Derek sensed the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. He could hear the waves churning and he could smell the cold salty froth. But all he could see was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed them toward the edge. Derek stumbled, and Bianca caught him.

"Thanks," he murmured, checking her out. Fortunately she was too scared to notice.

"What is he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"

"I… I'm working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

They turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first Derek thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."

There was a garbled reply, and he realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy to him—a monster using a mobile phone.

Derek glanced behind him, wondering how far the drop was.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.

"I'll explain later," He said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

He thought that he maybe could get both the di Angelos to jump with him into the ocean. If they survived the fall, he could use the water to protect them. He'd done things like that before. If his dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading his thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to him that it nicked his ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible… almost like a tail.

"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Ethan," Derek said. "You work for Ethan."

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when he said the name of his old enemy—a former friend who'd tried to kill him several times. "You have no idea what is happening, Derek LeBeau. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to beat - sorry, meeting you."

"The General?" He asked. Then he realized he'd said it with a French accent. "I mean… who's the General?"

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

Derek turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then he heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and shove it up your—"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" Derek asked. Anything to keep him talking while he tried to figure out a plan.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to Derek. "He's completely nuts."

"We have to jump off the cliff," He told her quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, fucking great idea. You're completely fucked up too."

He never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into him.

Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and Derek, knocking them to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

Derek thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind him, but he didn't dare look.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time Derek could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into Derek and the di Angelos.

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

Derek didn't know what he was talking about, but he didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward them with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, Derek remembered his own shield. He hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from his brother, was badly damaged. He wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

He heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to him with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, Derek thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

They were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. They had no chance.

Thorn launched another volley of spikes on Thalia and Annabeth knew she wouldn't be there in time to save her. Still, she ran as fast as she could. She was way too far to reach and she didn't have have that good accuracy when it came to throwing knives. Not from this distance at least.

Derek could have saved her but he stood watching as the spikes neared her. He nearly smiled in glee. Finally, finally the pesky daughter of Zeus would be out of his way.

Grover and Annabeth watched helplessly as the spikes neared their best friend and they knew she was a goner. They looked away. Annabeth almost cried as her best friend was to be impaled with spikes.

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 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys. This is the official start of the story. I mentioned this in my other story but I'll say it again. The updates will NOT be frequent since I'm going through exams. Please try to co-operate with me.**

 **Any kind of reviews are allowed. If you are insulting, then at least tell me why. Sound good?**

 **Anyway, one thing should be clear. This is NOT a crossover. And in the story, Greek and Romans are the only ones who exist. Maybe Norse later on. I apologise beforehand if it offends any christians that their God and angels don't exist in this story.**

 **Also, for some goddamn reason, the site isn't responding when I post a big chapter. That is why I've cut this one in half.**

 **Thank you,**

 **thebestofall**


	3. Hell on Earth

_Previously on The Devil,_

 _Thorn launched another volley of spikes on Thalia and Annabeth knew she wouldn't be there in time to save her. Still, she ran as fast as she could. She was way too far to reach and she didn't have have that good accuracy when it came to throwing knives. Not from this distance at least._

 _Derek could have saved her but he stood watching as the spikes neared her. He nearly smiled in glee. Finally, finally the pesky daughter of Zeus would be out of his way._

 _Grover and Annabeth watched helplessly as the spikes neared their best friend and they knew she was a goner. They looked away. Annabeth almost cried as her best friend was to be impaled with spikes..._

* * *

They whirled their heads back when they heard a metallic CLANG!. There, in front of Thalia was a man standing. The manticore's spike lay on the ground a few feet in front of him, mangled and dented beyond measure, as if it were a paper cup which got crushed. Annabeth gasped.

The man himself was a wonder. He wore an informal-ish black suit, with the blazer unbuttoned. He was a whole foot taller than Luke, and that was saying something. She looked at his face and would have blushed if it weren't for the situation. He was very very handsome. Devilishly so. His face had a permanent five-o-clock shadow and his hair was pitch black.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades. The monster stared at the man in front of Thalia, fear evident in his eyes.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

Then they heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

His sentence was cut short when something shot past Annabeth like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but Annabeth's eyes must've been playing tricks on her. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.

Two of the spikes flew towards the man, but all of a sudden his hands grabbed them out of the air. Thalia gasped. Nobody, absolutely nobody had such reflexes. Even then, the spikes were all round sharp. She didn't even see a drop of blood. Not a scratch. Even the hunters faltered for a moment when they noticed the man.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Derek tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged his attack and slammed his tail into the shield, knocking Derek aside.

Then the hunters came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe twelve. The oldest, about nineteen, about four to five years older than Derek. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to Derek, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

He didn't have a chance to ask what she meant.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

He couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little older than Annabeth, maybe sixteen or seventeen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her figure was so beautiful it made Derek catch his breath, his perverted mind going elsewhere, but her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission gran—."

Before she could complete her sentence, the manticore was half a foot off the ground. The man who had saved Thalia had impaled the manticore with some kind of sword. Annabeth couldn't see what sword it was since it was buried to the hilt into the monster.

Dr. Thorn's eyes bulged out, trying to comprehend what had happened. Black blood, the blood of monsters, seeped from his wound and from his throat.

"Y-You can't send me there! I'll be back!". Thorn struggled as he croaked out.

The man smiled evilly at the monster. "Oh poor monster. Who ever told you I was sending you to Hell?...No, no...I'm just going to bring it right to you!". His eyes flashed red, causing the manticore to gasp in horror.

Grip still on the handle of the sword, he used the sword as a handle and flung the monster aside. The manticore flailed as he flew a good thirty feet before stopping right in front of the girl with auburn hair. Thorn groaned as he tried to get up.

The auburn-haired girl however, stepped on the monster's wound, adding pressure. She whipped out an arrow and shot it through the head of the manticore, rendering itself dead. It slowly turned into golden dust and was soon blown away by the harsh winter winds.

The whole group, apart from the girl and the man stared at the two of them in shock. They finished off the monster in literally two moves. Annabeth and Thalia looked at the man in shock, and then blushed. He was more handsome than even Luke, who they had a crush on this whole time.

But apparently their enemies weren't done yet. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopters—the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

The second helicopter however started firing upon the man. He looked up towards it with disdain. "Mortals." He muttered. His sea-green eyes flashed red and the helicopter suddenly exploded, as if someone fired a rocket missile at it. The demigods and the hunters scattered to avoid the falling debris. The auburn haired girl merely glanced at the debris and sidestepped them as she approached the demigods (and satyr) with her hunters.

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoe scanned the rest of them. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady...and _him_ ". She sneered at the last part when she saw the man approach them.

The auburn-haired girl looked curiously at the man. "And why are you here Perseus?"

The man looked at her with an dangerous expression. He didn't scowl, or smile. He just had that dangerous look on his face that told people not to fuck around with him. "Father."

Annabeth could tell that Artemis was slightly shaken with his response, but she didn't press him. Instead she looked at the campers.

"Yes," Artemis said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow you're beautiful!"

Thalia wasn't the least bit impressed with Grover's behaviour. "Get up, goat boy!" She snapped. "We still need to take the kids to camp...". She drawled on, hoping Annabeth would get the hint. She really didn't want the hunters taking away Bianca and ruining her life.

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of them in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who… who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you. Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"

She faltered. Thalia guessed she could tell from everyone's faces that they didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"Yes, you do believe you are telling the truth, but I hate to break it to you, one of your parents is a god. Judging by your aura, an Olympian even.". Everyone looked at the man. Artemis narrowed her eyes. There were too many mysteries surrounding Perseus regarding his powers. She decided to question him later.

"An Olympian… athlete?"

"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

Thalia couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. She remembered what it was like for her when she first learned she was a demigod. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead? And you!" He looked at Perseus. "How fast did you go? What is your sword made of? That was so cool!"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Annabeth said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. Annabeth thought Bianca was going to faint right there.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"Bianca," Annabeth said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," She said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.

"Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"

"There is another option," Zoe said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia said.

Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. Annabeth knew exactly what they were talking about, and she didn't want that bad history to resurface now.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.

Zoe gave Thalia and Perseus one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"

"I'm with you," Derek said. "I don't trust—"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on him furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Derek? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster!"

"If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. I had almost died saving your stupid ass. Did you think of that?"

His jaw clenched. "Well maybe if you weren't such a weak bitch we wouldn't have to be saved!". Derek retorted.

Annabeth looked back and forth at the insults. Both of them had gotten angry at this point.

"You're calling ME a bitch? Look at yourself Derek! You could barely walk when you got grazed by a spike! Sometimes I wonder if you're even Poseidon's son. At least I CAN use my father's powers properly."

Derek glared at her. "AT LEAST I'M NOT AFRAID OF MY OWN FATHER'S DOMAIN!"

Perseus perked up. He noticed the two fighting badly. He decided not to intervene unless it got out of hand. Demigods needed to solve their own problems.

Annabeth winced. She knew that Derek had hit a nerve. Thalia had always been very sensitive about her acrophobia. Thalia at this point looked genuinely hurt, which was then replaced with anger. She punched him in the gut, HARD, with an electrified fist, which made the impact large.

Derek fell the the ground, coughing and holding his stomach. Pain exploded in his gut as he desperately tried to get up. Thalia rained blow after blow at him. Finally, he had enough.

He shifted his head so she missed the next punch and thanked the gods he did so when he saw it crack the ground slightly. He kicked her off with all his might and was satisfied when she landed a couple yards away, groaning from the sudden attack.

Derek stood shakily, Riptide in his hand. Thalia expanded her spear and held Aegis firmly in her other hand. Much to Annabeth's horror, they charged each other. However, just before their weapons clashed, a black blur sped into the middle, becoming the point of contact.

The demigods watched in horror as their weapons collided into Perseus. That horror changed to shock when he didn't even budge. Their weapons had harmlessly bounced off his body. Except for the slight tear in his clothes. His skin however, was fully intact.

Perseus turned and smirked evilly at Derek. He grabbed him by the neck and lifted him at least a feet and a half from the ground, so that he reached his eye level.

"You know, we have a specific section in Hell reserved for bullies.". His eyes turned completely red for a second. He dropped Derek who then scrambled away from him, but still in hearing distance.

Perseus turned towards the two girls, and Grover and Nico, who had arrived to see the commotion.

The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but Annabeth decided she would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched them from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and she knew they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.

Grover noticed Derek's wounded arm and his face. He winced as Grover dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square helped. It tasted like homemade brownie, dissolving in his mouth and sending a warm feeling through his whole body. Between that and the magic salve Grover used, he felt better within a couple of minutes.

Annabeth looked at Perseus suspiciously. "Who are you, really? Are you a god?"

"No, I'm the Devil.". He said simply.

Annabeth and Thalia both looked at each other before breaking down into fits of laughter. They had clearly not expected that answer.

Mid-laugh they looked at him. He sighed. "Come on, let it all out.". The two girls still continued laughing. Grover, however stared in shock at Perseus. He looked at Grover and suddenly his face shifted to that of a demon and shifted back as soon as it came. Grover dropped his reed-pipes and pointed at Perseus.

"HE'S NOT JOKING ANNIE! HE IS THE DEVIL! HE IS TH—"

"HAHAHAH HOHO HAHA!". Annabeth and Thalia continued, clearly finding it funny.

Finally, after they were done, they looked at Perseus, who looked exasperated.

Thalia rounded on him. "So...will you now tell us what you are?"

Perseus looked a little miffed that they laughed at him like that. He was The Devil for crying out loud! Nobody laughed at him! But he wasn't very angry. He felt a strange thing for these half-bloods. Almost as if he liked them. They were some of the few people who didn't cower in fear at his sight, save for his other family members of course.

"It's a long story."

"We have time. Annabeth said simply.

Perseus sighed. "Well. First let me tell you my parentage. Then you'll get a brief idea of who I am...My parents are Kronos and—"

"TITAN!". Derek yelled, charging at him with a sword.

Perseus glanced at him. He suddenly intercepted the sharp end of the sword with his palm, letting it dig into him. "Continue this further and your sword will break, son of Poseidon."

Derek glared at him. "You're a Titan!". He exclaimed.

"My mother is Rhea you dumbass."

Everyone shut up after that. The gears in Annabeth's head were turning. If his father is Kronos, and his mother is Rhea, then...but...how?

"I am the youngest son of Rhea. I was born merely months after Zeus. I guess you could call him elder brother. And no. Despite what you have learnt so far, it was not Zeus who had made Father regurgitate. It was me."

Thalia still wasn't convinced. "How do we know you aren't lying?"

At this Perseus gave her the evil eye, which sent shudders down her spine. "I swear upon the creator Chaos that I have spoken the truth. Happy?"

The demigods looked shocked. Massive amounts of thunder roared across the skies. Thalia had witnessed when her father was angry, and this definitely did not originate from him. Somehow, they knew that this was a much more serious oath than an oath to the Styx.

They looked at Perseus. He continued with his story.

He told them of how the battle with Kronos had gone. He told them of how the big three had drawn lots. He told them how he hadn't received any domain. He even told them of the day that all the gods decided to cast him from Olympus and forced him to rule Tartarus.

He told them how he had received a massive surge in powers over the last millennium, due to christians referring to the Devil, and some even worshipping him.

They learnt of who he really was and they were surprised to know he wasn't really evil. They learnt not to blindly trust myths and written scriptures. He then told them of how Kronos was to escape his prison soon, when they asked what he was doing here.

The hunters soon brought them their respective bags that they had left in the school.

Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, Derek didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. He recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Big collection," Perseus said.

Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game a long time?". Perseus asked.

"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows.

"What?" He asked, but the way he asked was as if he already knew the answer.

"I forget. That's weird."

He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"

Perseus showed him his sword. She noticed that it too was a pen, like Derek's. But this was a black and red pen and it certainly didn't look cheap. She squinted and saw that it was an Omas Phoenix Platinum fountain pen. She gasped looking at it.

She remembered the exact details of the pen. Being a daughter of Athena she could tell the exact specs and price of any educational material. It was a very beautiful cone-shaped fold that was the perfect combination of luxury and perfect writing pen of the world. It was made of platinum that was very expensive. The nib of this pen was also made with 18K gold. The design of this pen was very beautiful and attractive which looked truly amazing. She somehow also knew that it must have costed at least sixty-thousand dollars in the mortal world.

She didn't see further as he uncapped it, letting it reach to it's full length. It was longer that Riptide and was much more elegant. She didn't recognise the metal, a black substance that sucked the light around it. Red-coloured designs were wound intricately along the edges and the middle.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"

"Um, well, I don't actually write with it that much. But no, it does not run out of ink."

"Are you really the Devil?"

"Yes."

"Do punish evil people really well, then?"

He looked at Grover, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"Jeez, Nico," He said. "That's my job. I'm the best at punishing people."

He went on asking questions. Did he fight a lot with the big three, since they were his brothers? (He didn't answer that one.)

Grover figured any second he was going to ask Perseus how many hit points he had, and he'd lose his cool completely, but then Zoe Nightshade came up to them.

"Perseus and Derek..."

She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that Derek had to resist the urge to sit up straight and say "Yes, ma'am." She studied him distastefully, like he was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.

When she looked at Perseus, the scowl was replaced with slight trepidation. She looked away.

"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

Zoe led them to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved them inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, who Derek still had trouble thinking of as Artemis.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others Derek didn't recognise. He figured an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot. He thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap.

"Join us, Perseus...and Derek." the goddess said.

He sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied Derek, which made him uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Uh… a little.". He said.

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" He asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

"Oh.". Derek replied.

Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at him as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was his fault, like he'd invented the idea of being a guy.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Derek, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the… mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."

And so he told her.

When he was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."

Zoe sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" He asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at him intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"

"No, no you stupid boy. After that."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."

Zoe's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.

"Go on, Derek," the goddess said.

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—"

"Stirring." Bianca corrected.

"Yeah. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"

The goddess was so still she could've been a statue.

"Maybe he was lying," He said.

Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No, Zoe. I must do this alone."

"But, Artemis—"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As… as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

"You know what the monster is?" Derek asked.

"What do you think it is? Hmm..." Perseus mused from his spot.

Zoe shot him a glare for interrupting her mistress but quickly shut up when she saw who it was. She gulped and returned to her spot.

Artemis looked at Perseus quizzically.

He sighed. "Two days back, the Ophiotaurus was jail-broken. Hyperion stole it. He was gone by the time I got there."

Artemis had a look of shock on her face. She was unable to form words. Derek was surprised to see the calm goddess sputtering on her words.

"A-Are you sure?" She asked.

Perseus leaned back in his chair, drinking from a scotch bottle that he had conjured. "Yes. You know I never lie. But he also lost it. He made the mistake of placing it in a body of water. We need to find it before he does."

Artemis looked very troubled.

Derek frowned. This Ophiotaurus was a big deal apparently. "What if he someone else already got it by now. It has been two days."

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray they have not."

"Can goddesses pray?" He asked, because he'd never really thought about that.

A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Perseus, I have a small task for you."

"Does it involve getting me turning men into jackalopes?" He said, smiling.

"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

"What?" Zoe' blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"

"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.

"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Wait," Derek said. "Thinking about what?"

"They… they've invited me to join the Hunt."

"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive.". 'And also I want to fuck you, which I can't do if you're a hunter', Derek thought, but he didn't say it out loud.

"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoe said.

He couldn't believe he was hearing this. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and… I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?". 'You can have sex with me too!' He thought.

"To begin with," Zoe said, "immortality."

He stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Zoe rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" He asked.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?"

The goddess nodded.

He tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middle-school girls forever. He couldn't get his mind around it. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you, then?"

Anger flashed in Zoe's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"No need to be so rude, Huntress. He is simply asking you a question.". Perseus snarked in, leaning forward in his chair.

Zoe glared at him like no tomorrow, before being told to lay off by Artemis.

"Yes little Huntress, listen your mistress like a god dog...or in this case a good bi—"

"Perseus!". The goddess snapped, before regaining her calm. "Please refrain from goading my hunters."

Perseus merely took another swig from his bottle before leaning back. "Fine, fine."

Derek shook his head and remembered that Bianca was joining the hunters.

"Bianca, this is crazy," He said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

Perseus snorted. Artemis cast a glance at him.

"Hey!" Derek protested.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you can't do this," Derek said. "It's nuts."

She looked at Zoe. "Is it worth it?"

Zoe nodded. "It is."

"What do I have to do?"

"Say this," Zoe told her, " 'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"I… I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"

Zoe nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."

"I accept it," Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel… stronger."

"Welcome, sister," Zoe said.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life."

"It's not exactly your life, per say. It's more of remember it or die. Am I right Artemis?"

The goddess glared harshly at a smirking Perseus. She gritted her teeth. She didn't need to be reminded that she gave cruel punishments to oath breakers, which included death.

Derek couldn't speak. He felt like a trespasser. And a complete failure. He couldn't believe he'd come all this way and made so many plans to sleep with her and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club.

"Do not despair, Derek LeBeau," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."

"Great," He said, trying not to sound surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoe didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. "I'm sorry, Derek. But I want this. I really, really do."

Then she was gone, and he was left alone with the sixteen-year-old goddess and the Devil himself.

"So," Derek said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"

Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."

Perseus snorted. "Irresponsible is a bloody understatement."

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 **A/N: Sorry, there were some mistakes in the chapter. Pls read again.**


	4. The Real Apollo

Artemis assured the demigods that dawn was coming, but Thalia somehow didn't think so. It was colder and darker and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. She wondered if the teachers had even noticed the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. She didn't want to be around when they did. With her luck, the only name Mrs. Gottschalk would remember was "Thalia Grace" and then she'd be the subject of a nationwide manhunt… again.

The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. She stood shivering in the snow (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable), and Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. Thalia could tell from his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt. She couldn't help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that.

Thalia, Annabeth and Grover came up and huddled around Perseus and Derek, anxious to hear what had happened in their audience with the goddess.

When Perseus told them, Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."

"How'd they even show up here?" Derek wondered. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."

"And Bianca joined them," Thalia said, disgusted. "It's all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, fucking—"

"Who can blame her?" Grover said. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a big sigh.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so… into nature," Grover swooned.

"You're nuts," said Thalia.

"Nuts and berries," Grover said dreamily. "Yeah."

Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" Thalia asked.

"For my brother. Yes."

She didn't want to be rude. She knew the legends about Apollo—or sometimes Helios—driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But she also knew that the sun was really a star about a zillion miles away. She'd gotten used to some of the Greek myths being true, but still… she didn't see how Apollo could drive the sun.

"It's not exactly as you think," Artemis said, like she was reading her mind.

"Oh, okay." She started to relax. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a—"

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

Parks?

She averted her eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until her winter coat felt like it was melting off of her. Then suddenly the light died.

She looked. And she couldn't believe it. It was her car. Well, the car she wanted, anyway. A red convertible Maserati Spyder. It was so awesome it glowed. Then she realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why she was now standing on green grass and her shoes were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about nineteen or twenty, and for a second, Annabeth thought it was Luke, her crush. This guy had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. (Luke's smile wasn't THAT bright, or THAT gorgeous) The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," Perseus said, smirking.

Thalia scowled at him. "That's not what I meant."

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."

"Sis, I look twenty and you look, sixteen ."

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery? Need to remove those oaths for you?"

Artemis grit her teeth. "Don't even think about it Apollo. I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned. Apollo had annoyed them with his poems many many times.

He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.  
Artemis pleads for my help.  
I am so cool."

He grinned at us, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.

Zoe Nightshade turned to the others. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, There once was a goddess from Sparta—"

"I've got it!" Apollo announced. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself.

"And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers. And Perseus."

"No problem!" Apollo checked them out. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." Then he looked at Perseus, and his eyes narrowed. "Perseus?"

"Apollo."

Apollo studied him, but he didn't say anything, which Derek found a little creepy.

"Well!" he said at last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

Thalia looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.

"Cool car," Nico said.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp.

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses used for school basketball games.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoe ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, babe. Let me get that."

Zoe recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you most certainly do not call them 'babe'."

Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never mess around."

Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at Zoe. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoe straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

Perseus stepped forward and grabbed the keys out of Apollo's finger "Dude, you do know that underage driving is a PUNISHABLE crime right?". He emphasised the word 'PUNISHABLE'.

Apollo gulped. "Of course! I'll just— wait. Do you want to drive?"

Perseus shrugged. "Sure. It's been a while since I've used a car anyway. The last one was a few years back. Bloody good Royce."

He got into the van and got into the driver's seat. Apollo sat beside him. "So what up man? How's life?"

Perseus rolled his eyes at Apollo's attitude. "Well, life has been rather interesting. I get to see all sorts of weird people. Why, last week a soul who had fucked his own mother was sent to me. I loved torturing that one. He thoroughly deserved it. I mean— do you see Zeus getting on with Rhea?"

Apollo shuddered at the mental image. "Gross bro! Now I have to live with that mental image of my father in bed with my grandmother!"

Perseus started the engine of the van, and it roared to life, blowing away all the trees around them.

Apollo looked at him exasperatedly. "Aww come on! You had to rev up the engine didn't you! Now Arty will think I did that!"

Perseus smirked at him. He glanced at the back. The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of the 'highly infectious' males, Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with Apollo and Perseus, which seemed cold to Thalia, but Nico didn't seem to mind.

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the shotgun seat, sitting on Apollo's lap. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun… er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

"Come on Apollo don't fool him like that!" Perseus said. "Don't worry kid. The sun IS 'a big fiery ball of gas'...a star in outer space. What Apollo's chariot does is manifest that energy and spread it evenly across the earth's surface. The ozone layer isn't always enough. Without the sun chariot, mortals would be suffering due to large amounts of ultraviolet radiation exposure. It also makes the sun a tad bit brighter."

Apollo looked miffed. "Come on! He actually bought that!"

Perseus ignored him. He then suddenly stepped on the gas, sending the bus skyrocketing at escape velocity.

"BRO! I'M GONNA DIE!" Apollo screamed.

The rest of the demigods and the hunters held tight, some of them screaming, some of them lost their grip and tumbled to the back of the van. Thalia actually vomited in an emergency barf bag.

Slowly Perseus brought it back under control, cruising at the regular pace. He glanced back at the group. Some of them had turned green. "You guys are pussies." He exclaimed.

One of the Hunters threw a pebble at his face. He dodged it easily and got back to driving. Only Nico seemed unaffected, as he bounced on Apollo's lap repeatedly saying how 'cool' that was.

Perseus chuckled at the young demigod. He looked at Apollo and spoke in flawless Ancient Greek, so that Nico wouldn't understand. " _You know, for Hades' son, this boy is very lively and active."_

Apollo glanced at the boy and smiled. " _Yeah."_

 _"You do realise Artemis might be walking straight into a trap right?"_

 _Apollo whipped his head around to face Perseus, who was looking straight ahead. "What!"_ He hissed.

" _Consider this Apollo. The titan forces are amassing greatly. Atlas is free. The two children are both of Hades'. The elder one is already fifteen. The best part is that only one monster was sent to capture them. One monster."_

Apollo seemed to consider it. " _Yeah..."._

 _"They must have wanted to kidnap the elder one. Then they would have found Artemis later on. Of course, the chances of her getting caught is highly unlikely but what do you think she'll do if they say that a maiden is trapped under the sky?"_

Apollo understood what he meant. Artemis would do anything if it meant saving a girl. Even holding the sky. He gritted his teeth. He couldn't even do anything about it. No matter how many times he told her, she would always think he was being overprotective. He remembered the Orion incident clear as day.

She had refused to believe him when he told her that the very man she had accepted into the hunt was also a rapist and a murderer. She simply couldn't fathom the idea as she was so enticed by the son of Poseidon.

He had later taken matters into his own hands and shot him. The rest of his punishment was taken care of by Perseus. He was placed in a special section dedicated for rapists.

Perseus sighed. " _Relax Apollo. Your sister knows what she's doing. If anything happens...well, you do know that I am exempt from any and all ancient laws. They only apply to gods who have domains. I have not been given any domain."_

Perseus sighed. Once in a century, Apollo, he and Hermes would get sober together, after drinking dozens of shots of Dionysus' personal collection of vodka. It was then that Apollo would break down about his sister, admitting he was indeed younger, but like to tease her so. He admitted the number of times he annoyed her just so that she payed some attention to him. It was rather sad, having a sister who doesn't fully understand your love for her.

Finally though, they reached Camp Half-Blood's canoe lake. Smiling slyly, which made Apollo widen his eyes before yelling "NO!", Perseus suddenly floored the brakes and the sun-bus pitched forward and made a forty-five degree angle with the ground, which displaced all the occupants of the bus. Then it fell back on the ground with a THUD!, which made all the backseat occupants rub their behinds in pain.

* * *

Perseus had never seen Camp Half-Blood before, and the snow surprised him.

Apollo had told him that the camp had the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Dionysus, wanted it to. He thought it would be warm and sunny, but instead the snow had been allowed to fall lightly. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body.

Thalia wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," Thalia said.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

Derek stepped beside him "Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoe rolled her eyes, but she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brothers ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Perseus. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"Really Apollo? 'Percy'? That's what my nickname's supposed to be."

Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, bro," he called. "And uh, go easy on em'."

He gave the campers a wicked smile, as if he knew something they didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. Thalia turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When she looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

Nico was still looking grumpy. She wondered what his sister had told him.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," She said. "He's… well, you'll see.

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."

The second thing that surprised Perseus about camp was how empty it was. He knew that his brothers and their children had gone whoring around much like he did. So why where were all their kids? Of course, he himself didn't have any kids seeing as how he always enchanted the girl so that she didn't become pregnant after he had his fun with her.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. 'Percy' noticed Hestia sitting there and gave her a wave. She looked at him with a surprised expression before happily waving back.

The air smelled like hot chocolate. Dionysus, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor.

Thalia was trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer than Perseus had last seen. He guessed he could afford to be casual, seeing as how there were very less kids. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

He smiled when he saw them. "Annabeth! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

"Perseus," Perseus said. "Don't you remember me you old horse!"

"Perseus! Welcome back brother!...And I'm not a horse!". Perseus leaned forward so Chiron could hug him will still being in his wheelchair. He then noticed Nico.

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

"Well…yes."

"Alright. Off you go. Activities start from tomorrow."

Perseus looked at Dionysus and Chiron. Dionysus was lazily sitting, with his legs on top of the table. He noticed the way Dionysus acted, like as if he owned the campers.

"What do you think you're still doing here Tinkerlia and Darryl. Go away! Shoo off!"

The two campers muttered insults under their breaths and were going to leave when Perseus held his hand, telling them to stop. Anger was evident in his eyes as he stared at the wine god.

"Say their names properly Dionysus."

Dionysus glared at Perseus from his table. "What did you say! You measly little—"

He was interrupted, however, when his chair magically tipped over and he crashed to the ground. For some reason, it hurt him more than it should have. As if the ground suddenly hardened.

"STAND UP!". Perseus suddenly shouted. Dionysus scrambled to his feet, glaring at the immortal in front of him, which was an amusing sight since Perseus was a good twenty inches taller than him.

Chiron, and the campers present in the room stared at Perseus in shock, and a little admiration.

"How dare you! I shall tell father about this. He w— ack! ack!"

Perseus grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. "Listen here, and listen well. I'm not in the mood for your attitude. Clean up this mess. Take charge you bloody imbecile. If it weren't for Chiron this place would have gone to shits. Get cracking!"

He dropped Dionysus to the ground, where the god breathed the air greedily after being denied. He looked at Perseus a little fearfully. Perseus turned to leave. Just as he was at the door, he turned back to Dionysus. "Oh. And if you ever dare insult me in my presence, or otherwise, I will drag you down all the way to your own personal chamber that I would create just for you. I do not want to see this again."

He left the room, leaving a gasping wine god and a stunned audience.

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!"

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

"But… Oh, right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"

"It's PG-13," Grover said.

"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room.

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia and Derek, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story."

* * *

"Thalia," Chiron said, "you and Derek go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Capture the flag?" She asked. "But we don't have enough—"

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told us.

"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, Derek.".

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any second.

"I'll break that up," Thalia said. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."

"All right. You should be team captain."

"No, no," she said. "You've been at camp longer. You do it."

"We can, uh… co-captain or something."

She looked about as comfortable with that as he felt, but she nodded.

As she headed for the court, he said something that greatly surprised her, "Hey, Thalia."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys. And I'm sorry about saying well you know...".

She blinked, not believing her ears.

"S' okay, Derek. I probably would've done the same thing."

She walked towards the basketball court, thinking about what had happened. 'Wow!' She thought. 'Derek must have gone crazy. How come he's not as arrogant anymore?'

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 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys. I sort of improved Derek's character a little so that he becomes an okay sort of guy in the story. It makes it a little unbelievable that someone would be so mean even after two quests and a rescue mission.**

 **He WILL still be a little perverted though. I can't make his character as good as Percy's!**


	5. Women

_Previously, on The Devil,_

 _"I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys. And I'm sorry about saying well you know..."._

 _She blinked, not believing her ears._

 _"S' okay, Derek. I probably would've done the same thing."_

 _She walked towards the basketball court, thinking about what had happened. 'Wow!' She thought. 'Derek must have gone crazy. How come he's not as arrogant anymore?'_

* * *

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings that Perseus had ever seen. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and the barbecue hearth.

He walked about aimlessly, stopping by the Hermes cabin. He peered inside and was surprised to see it nearly empty. He noticed that Thalia was the only resident of the Zeus cabin.

He shrugged and decided to visit Hestia who was sitting by the central hearth in the middle of the U-formation of the cabins. She was poking coals with her stick, maintaining the flames in the hearth. She looked like a little eight year old girl wearing a brown dress with a red shawl over it.

Her face was the most innocent he had ever seen. Her fiery red hair would burst into flames once in a while.

He walked over to her. "Hello sister."

She looked up and smiled at him. "Hello brother."

He sat by her, with neither of them talking for a few minutes. Finally, he decided to break the silence. "How are you sister?"

Hestia looked at him. "I am good. Like always."

"That's not what I meant. How are you...really?"

She sighed. "Not so good. Our family is fighting amongst themselves. Th-"

Perseus interrupted her "Ah ah ah! No! YOUR family, Hestia. They made it crystal clear to me that I wasn't one of them.".

Her expression grew even softer, if possible. "Perseus..." She chose her words carefully. "He is still your-"

Perseus gave her a slight glare. "Do not complete that sentence. He is only my brother by blood. Nothing more."

Hestia shook her head. "Fine. Anyway, care to tell me why you went soft on those demigods? Normally you would make someone regret their every action by inflicting pain. You even jumped in the way of their fight. Are you starting to like them?"

Perseus sputtered, unable to form words. "Wha...No I...There is nothing! I do NOT like those ungrateful critters!" He defended.

Hestia gave him a knowing smile. "Though I am surprised brother, you do know that those two girls have HUGE crushes on you right?"

Perseus scoffed. "Every girl other than you and Artemis has a crush on me. Those two are no different."

The two siblings continued conversing, catching up for old times' sake. They shared their stories. Perseus shared his adventures in Tartarus, which made the goddess a little queasy.

An hour later, thunder rolled across the skies. Hestia looked upwards. "I have to go. Zeus has issued a council meeting. For some reason I am needed too. Bye brother."

She flashed out. He stared at the spot where she was sitting. "Bye Hestia..." He murmured.

* * *

Derek went about all the cabins, telling everybody about capture the flag. He woke up some Ares kid from his midday nap and he yelled at him to get lost. When he asked him where Clarisse was he said, "Went on a quest for Chiron. Top secret!"

"Is she okay?"

"Haven't heard from her in a month. She's missing in action. Like your ass is gonna be if you don't fuck off!"

Derek decided to let him go back to sleep.

Finally he got to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was just as empty as always, except for his bunk. A Minotaur horn hung on the wall next to his pillow.

He took off his wristwatch and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. The manticore's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. The beautiful metal pictures that his brother had crafted were all banged up. In the picture of him and Annabeth fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in Derek's head. He hung the shield on its hook, next to the Minotaur horn, but it was painful to look at now. Maybe Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin could fix it. He was the best armorsmith in the camp. He decided to ask him at dinner.

He was staring at the shield when he noticed a strange sound—water gurgling—and realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea.

He stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but he knew it could only be a gift from Poseidon.

He looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."

The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered—a dozen or so golden drachma. He realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with family.

He opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then he fished a coin out of the hot water.

"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," He said, "accept my offering."

He tossed a coin into the mist and it disappeared. Then he realized he didn't know who to contact first.

His mom? That would've been the "good son" thing to do, but she wouldn't be worried yet. She was used to him disappearing for days or weeks at a time.

Father? It had been way too long, almost two years, since he'd actually talked to him. But he wondered if you could even send an Iris-message to a god? He had never tried. Would it make them mad, like a sales call or something?

He hesitated. Then he made up his mind.

"Show me Tyson," He requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."

The mist shimmered, and the image of his half brother appeared. He was surrounded in fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water—the bottom of the ocean.

"Tyson!" He yelled.

He didn't hear him at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames.

"TYSON!"

He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Derek!"

He dropped the sword blade and ran at Derek's image, trying to give him a hug. The vision blurred and Derek instinctively lurched back. "Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here."

"Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes."

"How are you?" He asked. "How's the job?"

His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!"

"That's really cool."

"I wrote my name on it. Right there."

"Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"

Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war."

"What do you mean?"

Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys."

Derek sort of knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked.

Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat."

"The Princess Andromeda?" Derek said. "Ethan's boat?"

"Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise he would smash it."

"Smashing it would be good."

"And, Derek, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away."

"What do you mean?"

"Panama Canal! Very far away."

He frowned. Why would Ethan take his demon-infested cruise ship all the way down there? The last time he'd seen him, he'd been cruising along the East Coast, recruiting half-bloods and training his monstrous army.

"All right," Derek said, not feeling reassured. "That's… good. I guess."

In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something he couldn't make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Brother!"

"Okay, tell Dad—"

But before he could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. He was alone again in his cabin, feeling even lonelier than before.

He was pretty miserable at dinner that night.

The food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but everyone had to sit with their cabin mates, which meant Derek was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia sat alone at the Zeus table, but they couldn't sit together. Not that she wanted to. She figured that he had a long way to go before she would forgive him.

The Hephaestus, Ares, Athena and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico sat with the Stoll brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabin if their Olympian parent was unknown. The Stoll brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much better game than Myth-o-magic. Thalia hoped Nico didn't have any money to lose.

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she was the mama. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. Perseus thought she looked a lot less of bitch when she smiled. Bianca di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was trying to learn how to arm wrestle from the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem to mind.

Perseus of course, sat beside Chiron at the head councillor's table. He watched all the young children eat their dinner. He sighed. It was a childhood that he'd never gotten. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't evil. He punished evil. Mortals got the completely wrong conception. He couldn't help but feel a slight resentment towards them. It wasn't their fault since he never bothered to correct them...but still.

He growled, tightening his grip on the cup he was holding, sending cracks all along it's side. A nymph hastily ran up to him and replaced the cup. He gave her a smile, which sent shudders of pleasure through her spine, making her blush. She scampered off to her friends, her face completely golden.

Perseus smirked. He was glad to know he still had that effect on girls. Chiron looked at Perseus then at the nymph. "Please keep it a little quiet tonight would you Perseus. You always make them screamers."

Perseus gave him a half-hearted glare. "Why must you always assume I sleep with any girl I see?"

"Because you DO sleep with any girl you see Perseus. Even Poseidon does not whore around so much."

"Whatever.". He went back to eating.

When everyone had finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty halfhearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception.

Afterward, everyone trailed back to their cabins for an early, winter lights out. Thalia was exhausted, which meant she fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, she had a nightmare, and even by her standards it was a whopper.

Some young girl was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because she immediately felt claustrophobic and she couldn't see the sky above—just a close, heavy darkness, as if she were in a cave.

The girl, who Thalia recognised as Lou Ellen of the Hecate cabin, struggled up the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums.

"Thorn!" Lou cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill.

She gasped.

There was Ethan. And he was in pain.

He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched and drenched with sweat,

"Lou!" he called. "Help me! Please!"

She ran forward.

Thalia tried to cry out: He's a traitor! Don't trust him!

But her voice didn't work in the dream.

Lou had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Ethan's face, but at the last second she hesitated.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me."

Thalia couldn't see what was wrong with him. He seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog were squeezing him to death.

"Why should I trust you?" Lou asked. Her voice was filled with hurt.

"You shouldn't," Ethan said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die."

Let him die, Thalia wanted to scream. Ethan had tried to kill them in cold blood too many times. He didn't deserve anything from Lou.

Then the darkness above Ethan began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Lou rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow—tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Ethan just with her own strength. It was impossible. She shouldn't have been able to do that.

Ethan rolled free, gasping. "Thanks," he managed.

"Help me hold it," Lou groaned.

Ethan caught his breath. His face was covered in grime and sweat. He rose unsteadily.

"I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Lou.

"HELP ME!" she pleaded,

"Oh, don't worry," Ethan said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."

The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Lou against the ground.

Thalia sat bolt upright in her bed, clawing at the sheets. There was no sound in her cabin except for the ticking of the clock. The clock on her nightstand read just after midnight.

Only a dream, but she was sure of two things: Lou Ellen was in terrible danger. And Ethan Nakamura was responsible.

The next morning after breakfast, Thalia told Grover and Annabeth about her dream. They sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.

When Thalia told Grover her nightmare, he started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur.

"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked.

"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"

Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoe dreamed—"

"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoe had a dream like that?" Thalia asked.

"I… I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."

"Wait, how do you know this?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."

"What for?" Annabeth asked.

"Just to be, you know, near them."

"You're a stalker with hooves." Thalia said.

"I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene.

She tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp—a big blond dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. She wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoe Nightshade.

"What did she say?"

Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout… I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"

"Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?" Thalia asked.

"I… well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and—"

"He wears curlers in his tail?"

Grover covered his mouth. Annabeth snickered.

"Sorry," Thalia said. "Go on."

"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said…" Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"

"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?"

"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Thalia tried to get her mind around that idea. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone."

"But she was like, the goddess of flowers." Thalia exclaimed.

Grover looked offended. "Springtime."

"Whatever. Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?"

Grover shook his head miserably. "I don't know. Kronos?"

"He can't be that powerful already. Can he?"

The last time they'd seen Kronos, he'd been in tiny pieces. Well… they hadn't actually seen him. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan—God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, where Perseus kept his essence under constant supervision.

Two summers ago, Kronos had tricked them to the very edge of the pit and almost pulled them in. Then last summer, on board Ethan's demon cruise ship, they'd seen a golden coffin, where Ethan claimed he was summoning the Titan Lord out of the abyss, bit by bit, every time someone new joined their cause. Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but Thalia didn't see how he could physically overcome Artemis if he was still like a pile of chopped flesh which was currently inside the pit.

"I've got to talk to Zoe," Thalia said.

"Um, before you do…" Grover took something out of his coat pocket. It was a three-fold display like a travel brochure. "You remember what you said—about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us."

"Scouting us? What do you mean?"

He gave me the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff, chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like: HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!

"I found that on the ground near Westover." Grover said.

Thalia stared at him. "What!" She hissed.

"Well, it seems to me… maybe they tried to recruit you and Annabeth AGAIN."

Thalia wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time. The rest of the day she tried to keep busy, but she was angry about the incident. _That fucking Zoe! How dare she try that sort of shit again!_

Thalia went to javelin-throwing class, but the Ares camper in charge chewed her out after she got distracted and threw the javelin at the target before he got out of the way. She apologized for the hole in his pants, but he still sent her packing. Thalia was a little miffed about that and caused a major electrical storm above camp. Most campers thought it was Zeus.

Thalia knew that only Chiron could help sort her feelings out. But she didn't really feel like speaking to him. So she decided to speak with Perseus instead.

She looked everywhere, but she still couldn't find him. She asked Chiron where he was. He told her something about the camp lake.

She walked towards the lake. She blushed at the thought of meeting him. She knew it was just a silly crush, but still she hoped, since he looked around eighteen and she was to be sixteen in a week. It wasn't that much of an age difference. If you discount the fact that he's immortal and over many millennia old.

She reached the camp lake...only to see a couple making out. She nearly turned to go when she noticed that the girl was one of the nymphs who had served dinner the previous night. She got a good look at the guy. She squinted and saw...Perseus.

She didn't understand why, but her heart cracked into two at the sight. She saw red as she stomped towards the couple, electricity crackling around her fists. She realised she must have made quite some noise because they stopped making out and the nymph disappeared into the lake. Perseus sighed and turned around, only to be socked in the gut by an electrified fist.

"Oomph!". He stumbled backwards a little, nearly falling into the lake. He looked amusedly at Thalia, whose face was red with rage. She yelled at him badly, making him wince.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING! I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE!"

Perseus was a little surprised by her outburst. He didn't know she liked him THAT much. "Okay, okay. I'm here, now talk."

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK NOW! GO MAKE OUT WITH YOUR WHORE!". She slapped him.

She stomped away out of the woods and back into the camp, leaving a stunned Perseus, who held the side of his face in shock. For some bloody reason he couldn't fathom, he felt a tad bit guilty. Why? He didn't know.

He stared at her retreating form while rubbing his stomach. "I will never understand women."


	6. Welcome to Hell

_Previously on The Devil,_

 _"I DON'T WANT TO TALK NOW! GO MAKE OUT WITH YOUR WHORE!". She slapped him._

 _She stomped away out of the woods and back into the camp, leaving a stunned Perseus, who held the side of his face in shock. For some bloody reason he couldn't fathom, he felt a tad bit guilty. Why? He didn't know._

 _He stared at her retreating form while rubbing his stomach. "I will never understand women."_

* * *

That night after dinner, Thalia was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: only thirteen Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers.

Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. Zoe had told them about her nightmare.

On the camp's team, they had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around), Luke, the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. Annabeth was alone in the Athena cabin. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard we were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go.

They had two big advantages for the campers. Luke, from the Hermes cabin. Other than Perseus, Luke was THE best swordsman in camp. The second was Annabeth. The smartest child of Athena till date.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"

That left Thalia, Derek, Luke and Perseus. Perseus wasn't going to play. He was just there to help Chiron monitor the game, since Dionysus wasn't doing shit.

"I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You take defense."

"Oh." Derek hesitated, because he'd been about to say the exact same thing, only reversed. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"

Thalia already had Aegis on her arm, and even her own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa.

"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense," Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense."

Derek wasn't sure if she was teasing him. He had some pretty bad experiences with defense on capture the flag. On his first year, Annabeth had put him out as a kind of bait, and he'd almost been gored to death with spears and killed by a hellhound, until Luke intervened.

"Yeah, no problem," He lied.

"Cool." Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails. Nico di Angelo ran up to Perseus with a big grin on his face.

"Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. Perseus sighed looking at the boy. He looked absolutely ridiculous. The other members of the team snickered.

He snapped his fingers and the armour set shrunk in size until it fit him perfectly. Then he did something that greatly horrified Thalia. He gave Nico his sword. The boy jumped about in excitement, eager to use the sword of the devil.

"Only for this game." Perseus warned.

Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"

"Well… no."

"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"

"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides—"

"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and—"

"Nico!" He snapped.

He stared at Perseus, a little disappointed, and he realized that he just sounded like a father.

Perseus patted Nico on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way. You'll have a blast."

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. Perseus and I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Sweet," Nico whispered next to Perseus. "What kind of magic items? Do I get one?"

He was about to break it to him that he didn't, when Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"

They cheered and followed. Derek had to run to catch up, and tripped over somebody's shield, so he didn't look much like a co-captain. More like an idiot.

Perseus watched the blue team set their flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if looked at just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If looked at from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let anyone call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humour.

Perseus snickered. Poop Pile. He made sure to remember that when he spoke with Zeus.

Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.

Luke ran up to the clearing where the flag was and made sure everything was set in place. He set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring he'd be safely out of the way.

"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!"

"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."

Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence people couldn't help but believe it would work.

Thalia looked at Luke. "Anything to add, Luke?"

"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."

"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.

"Unless you see a golden opportunity," Derek added.

Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."

"Right, unless—"

"Derek!" She touched his arm and shocked him. Everybody can give static shocks in the winter, but when Thalia does, it hurts since her father is Zeus. She's been known to fry off people's eyebrows.

"Sorry," Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everybody clear?"

"Fucking bitch." Derek muttered under his breath. He wanted to go offensive so he could corner Bianca somewhere.

Everybody nodded. They broke into smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right. Luke's group went forward.

Derek waited for something to happen. He climbed Zeus's Fist and had a good view over the forest. He remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and he was prepared for something like that—one huge charge that could overwhelm them. But nothing happened.

He looked up and saw Perseus floating around the woods a bit above the tree. He went circling around. Derek saw him go out of his sight, then come back.

Perseus was watching the game in anticipation. He wanted to see how this game would go. Since the campers and hunters hated each other, it wouldn't surprise him if someone got badly hurt.

He briefly noticed Thalia being overwhelmed by the hunters. _Oh dear._ He could have helped if he wanted to, but he felt that mortals should solve their own problems. He couldn't interfere for each and every thing. So he continue floating there. He saw an invisible force knocking out hunters left and right. He smiled. The game might not be so hopeless after all.

He saw a figure run past the hunters and grab their flag. Perseus slapped his forehead. "What an idiot." He muttered. He knew exactly why their flag was left undefended. It was a trap. The Hunters being...well...hunters. They were the best at ambushes.

He watched as Derek tried to run back and a silvery cord entangled his legs and tied him to the tree, the flag fell out of his hands. He sighed. So much for the campers breaking their losing streak.

He saw Luke reach the hunters' flag point only to see it missing. He smirked. Derek was going to be yelled at after this game. He saw Derek free himself and hide in the side of the game, a bit away from the game. He frowned. What was the son of Poseidon up to? He left it and decided to go another round around the perimeter.

Luke was two feet from the water holding the hunters flag when Zoe bolted across to her own side, slamming into him for good measure. The Hunters cheered as both sides converged on the creek. Chiron appeared out of the woods, looking grim. He had the Stoll brothers on his back, and it looked as if both of them had taken some nasty whacks to the head. Connor Stoll had two arrows sticking out of his helmet like antennae.

Perseus sighed and floated down to the ground. The campers had almost won.

"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."

Meanwhile, Bianca stumbled into that very clearing where Derek was hiding. Derek sauntered towards her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. She didn't see it, but his eyes had turned a shade black. Derek then pinned her arms to a tree and he started molesting her.

She tried to cry for help but he muffled her mouth with some cloth. He pushed her against a tree and watched her hit the trunk and fall on the ground. He jumped on her and smiled. This would be his perfect chance.

He tied her hands behind back and flipped her over so that she was facing him. She desperately screamed but only muffled sobs came out. Bianca cried as she wasn't able to do anything. If this were any other camper she might have overpowered him, but the problem was that he was a child of the big three. He had enhanced strength from his father. She did too, but it wouldn't activate unless she was officially claimed by Hades.

Derek unbuttoned her parka started groping her breasts. She tried to kick at him but he was sitting in her pressure point, so her legs were basically numb. He tore her T-shirt that she had worn underneath and her bra was exposed.

She pulled at her bonds with all her strength but nothing seemed to be happening. She couldn't even believe this was happening to to her. Derek smiled. Oh he was going to break her completely. He put his hand on her bra and yanked it out, exposing her breasts.

He then flipped her over so she was lying on her stomach. Bianca banged her legs against the forest floor, hoping that someone would hear her. She gasped as her jeans were pulled down, exposing her panties. She tried to break free but nothing was happening.

She prayed to every deity that she knew. She prayed to Artemis, but knew that there was nothing the goddess could do. She desperately cried, tears rolled down like waterfalls as her panties were pulled down too. She heard a sound of a zipper opening and she dreaded what was to come next.

She was roughly flipped over once again and she looked in horror at the boy. He had removed his pants and she was staring at his dick. She shifted her legs trying to get away.

He raised her legs above him so that he could penetrate her. Due to all the shuffling about, the cloth in her mouth came off. In her desperation she prayed to Perseus. "P-P-Please H-Help! Perseus."

* * *

Perseus noticed that Derek and Bianca were nowhere to be seen. Before he could investigate, he heard a voice in his head. A prayer. _P-P-Please H-Help! Perseus!_

In a matter of milliseconds, beautiful angelic pitch black wings appeared on his back and he suddenly shot into the air and flew to the direction from which he had received the prayer. What he saw made his blood boil. Derek was raping Bianca. Well, almost rape.

Just before Derek could penetrate her and break her oath, he shot downwards faster than sound, causing a sonic boom to shatter branches of the trees and deafen the campers.

Without losing momentum, he grabbed Derek by the scruff of his neck and shot thirty feet into the air, leaving Bianca eternally grateful to the person who saved her. Soon, her sisters had arrived at the clearing and their faces contorted in anger as they saw the condition of their newest sister.

Perseus was livid. Oh he was so angry at the boy for this. To him, this was a very punishable crime indeed. He lost control as his face shifted into a monster and then shifted back.

Derek, upon seeing the monstrous face, suddenly started screaming for help. The whole game had already finished, and they were all looking upwards, seeing Perseus holding Derek by the scruff of his neck.

Thalia gasped. Not because he was holding Derek that way. Not even because they were thirty feet in the air, not even because Derek was half-nude from the bottom where his penis could be seen, but because Perseus had wings.

She had seen other deities with wings before, but never like this. It looked just like an angel's wings, but pitch black in colour.

The hunters had covered Bianca with a shawl and led her back where Chiron and the campers were waiting. They soothed her, assuring her that everything was going to be okay.

The hunters were going to say another word when a black blur sped in front of them and suddenly stopped. Derek, however didn't stop and the inertia sent him crashing into the ground right in front of the hunters, with his butt facing upward. The hunters glared at the half-nude boy.

Zoe looked upwards at Perseus's face and she wished she hadn't. On his face was a look of absolute rage. His face was constantly shifting. One moment it was his regular face and suddenly it shifted into that of a demon. Then it became something else.

He took one step forward and kicked Derek in the side so hard that he flipped sideways twice before landing on his back. The boy scrambled up quaking in fear at the sight. He screamed seeing his worst fears on Perseus's face.

The hunters gave them a berth. They really wanted to castrate the boy but they knew that the devil would gave a far greater punishment.

They watched in sick fascination as Perseus stepped forward, each step causing the Derek to flinch, as if his skin was being peeled. He screamed.

Perseus didn't even bother to summon a weapon. He raised his leg then snapped it forward, sending the son of Poseidon flying into the lake. The campers gasped. The didn't know how Perseus could defeat him now. Sadly, they had underestimated the devil. Big time.

Derek overcame his fears and threw a wave at Perseus, who merely glanced at it, making it suddenly evaporate. He sped forward and before anyone could react, a punishing uppercut was delivered, sending Derek high into the sky. When he came down, Perseus side-kicked him mid-air, sending him crashing through a tree trunk.

The campers and hunters looked in shock. Only Olympians had this kind of power. Perseus strolled towards Derek and dragged him holding his leg. He dragged him back in front of the hunters.

His eyes turned fully red, making the hunters involuntarily take a step back. Derek was shaking in fear looking at the silhouette. His dark wings rose threateningly as they sucked the light around them. Derek was on his knees muttering apologies over and over.

 **"Why does everyone always become sorry when they're about to be punished?"**

The hairs on Zoe's back rose upon hearing Perseus's voice. It had changed. It sounded so ancient. It was almost like Kronos's but with a key difference. It didn't sound as evil.

Chiron looked at his brother in shock. He had seen this side of his brother only once. And that was during the final battle against Kronos, millennia ago.

Perseus was staring at Derek's face for a while. His eyes widened and then Thalia saw Perseus suddenly grab Derek. They both erupted into a column of flames and vanished.

After about half a minute, a column of flames appeared in the middle of the pavilion and Perseus stood there, a scowl on his face. He noticed Bianca, and then his expression softened. He approached her. The hunters gave way to him as he reached her. They were shocked when he wrapped her in a hug.

"It's okay. Let it out."

Zoe noticed that his voice was back to normal and his wings were missing. His eyes had returned to their usual sea-green colour.

Bianca sobbed in his chest, wetting the blazer and the formal black shirt behind it, but Perseus didn't mind. He could always conjure another suit. He glanced at the remaining campers in the pavilion who were all staring at them. He got irritated.

"What are you waiting for? Balls to grow?"

The campers looked at him cluelessly.

"Go on! Get out of here!"

The campers hurriedly left the pavilion to their cabins, whispering and shushing as they walked off, leaving Perseus alone with a crying girl and twelve of her sisters. After what seemed like an hour, Bianca had stopped crying.

"Don't judge the boy so quickly...I do not think he was in control."

He turned and walked off, but hardly had he taken ten steps he turned around. "Oh. And next time please stick together. You may not be so lucky again. I barely managed to catch him just before he could do it."

The hunters looked at him curiously. What did he mean he wasn't in control?

He walked to the centre of the porch, away from everyone, and willed himself to appear in his throne room. A column of flames engulfed him and he found himself sitting on his throne. He stood and walked across the great hall, seeing the statues of himself and all the demons running about. The demons scrambled about upon seeing their master's arrival.

He walked out of his palace and He breathed in the sulphurous atmosphere that he was so accustomed to. He watched the flames in the punishment chambers rise sky high once in a while. He smiled. They must have started with the fire torture again.

He strolled to an abandoned building in the middle of the hellish plains. It was only the size of a regular camp cabin, but it was designed to hold even the strongest of beings. It was black and red in colour, just like the all the buildings near his palace.

He opened the door and entered. Derek was sitting on a chair, the interrogation table in front. Perseus closed the door behind him and grabbed the handles, snapping it from the door with ease. He raised the broken handles threateningly. His eyes turned fully red.

 **"Welcome to Hell"**

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* * *

 **A/N :**

 **How was it? Nice? Sucked? Pls comment and let me know.**

 **By the way, the pairing might be Percy x Thalia.**

 **It also maybe, just a teeny bit maybe Percy x Bianca.**

 **Tell me which you prefer. This is a poll. The winner will be paired.**


	7. A HUGE Misunderstanding

**Firstly, ya'll don't get your panties in a twist. CALM the fuck down. Derek is NOT evil. It will be explained in either this chapter or the next chapter. Yes, I know ya'll got confused when he suddenly tried to rape Bianca but chillax. He isn't evil. As you may have guessed it, he's being influenced. Perseus took him to hell to find out who influenced him. Although I admit it was a little overboard to have Poseidon come down and disown him. I've changed that now. Pls read it again.**

* * *

 _Previously on The Devil,_

 _He strolled to an abandoned building in the middle of the hellish plains. It was only the size of a regular camp cabin, but it was designed to hold even the strongest of beings. It was black and red in colour, just like the all the buildings near his palace._

 _He opened the door and entered. Derek was sitting on a chair, the interrogation table in front. Perseus closed the door behind him and grabbed the handles, snapping it from the door with ease. He raised the broken handles threateningly. His eyes turned fully red._

 _ **"Welcome to Hell"**_

* * *

Two weeks after the dreadful incident which involved Derek being taken to Hell, the camp was bustling with activity. The campers were made to do their normal chores and blah blah blah.

But nobody had seen Perseus so nervous. It made them wonder what had happened down in Hell. After his visit to Hell and back, he had seemed very nervous and had been snappy. Nobody save for Chiron could approach him without being glowered at.

Thalia wondered what was wrong with him. For the past two days he would avoid her, claiming he was busy. Whenever she had him cornered, he would suddenly flash out in a column of flames, making her attack the wall in frustration.

They were sitting in the dining pavilion and simply enjoying their respective breakfast when a gasp was heard from Chiron. "This is impossible," Chiron said. No one had ever heard him sound so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around everyone's feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

Nobody dared move. Then her voice hissed inside their heads. Everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.

 **I am the sprit of Delphi** , the voice said. **Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.**

The Oracle regarded the campers with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. **Approach, Seeker, and ask.**

Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. They saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

 **Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,**

 **One shall be lost in the land without rain,**

 **The bane of Olympus shows the trail,**

 **Campers and Hunters combined prevail,**

 **Devil's Bane they shall face,**

 **The Titan's curse must one withstand,**

 **And one shall perish by a parent's hand.**

Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this pavilion for a hundred years.

Perseus turned and without a word, he erupted into a column of flames, leaving a charred mark on the wooden planks in front of the sacrificial brazier. Dionysus, who had watched the whole thing, decided to have a council meeting of the cabin leaders in about half an hour.

* * *

 _(In Hell)_

Perseus had returned to his domain, just because he was still in denial. He hurriedly fast-walked to the main prison, where the strongest of beings were held.

He walked towards the seven cells. It was a group of cells that housed the most dangerous of beings that had ever been captured by him. One, of course was his father, Kronos. The second and third housed Hyperion and his brother Krios. The fourth and fifth held Koios and Iapetus. The sixth one held Mnemosyne, the only titan daughter of Ouranos who supported Kronos.

The seventh one however, held the most deadly. She was not even close to being as powerful as a titan. Far from it. But she was extremely dangerous. She was an enchantress and a seductress. A being who had nearly killed Perseus on several occasions. Nobody, god or mortal could resist her charms. It was only due to the several attempts that Perseus was able to resist her (somewhat) and finally defeat her.

Her beauty was extraordinaire. She didn't limit herself to just men. Even women would fall for her charms, though not as strongly. She wasn't just all looks though. Her voice was like an enhanced form of charm-speak that greatly surpassed Aphrodite's own abilities. And THAT was saying something. Aphrodite was known to even charm-speak gods sometimes. There was no telling what this woman could do.

He rushed past the demonic guards who bent the knee when he passed by them. He didn't bother to glance at them. HE had much more pressing matters to attend to. He pushed open the huge double metal doors to the seven cells.

They were arranged in a circle. Kronos' was in the direct front, right opposite to the entry. Beside him were supposed to be Hyperion and Iapetus. Krios and Koios were to be on either side once again.

He cursed as he saw the empty cells. Only Kronos' was somewhat filled with a golden essence looming here and there. But almost three fourths of it was missing. Hyperion, Iapetus and Krios were nowhere to be seen. He let himself relax when he saw that Koios and Mnemosyne were still there, struggling against their bonds.

He then turned to the last cell. Empty. In a fit of rage he yelled. after calming himself down, he looked again, hoping that it was just a trick of the light. No such luck.

He exited out of the building and ordered it locked down.

"Surround the base with Chaos' Platinum. And go to the library and find Ouranos' scroll. Find a spell which I have labelled as lockdown. Use it on the cells."

The demons gasped. Chaos' Platinum was THE rarest metal. And it was also THE strongest. It was virtually indestructible. After all, it was designed to hold Lady Chaos herself. A few titans is nothing.

He stormed back to his palace and slumped on his throne. He put his hands on his head. He had been given ONE task, and he had failed. It was his job to make sure that the titans would never escape. But how?

He had made sure that the cells would hold. He had tested them with Oceanus. It was able to hold him. Why was it not enough for Hyperion and the others. He wondered how Merediana was able to escape. She wasn't even close to Hyperion's level of power.

He sat straight as he realised one thing. Someone had betrayed him. Somebody had freed Merediana long back, and she had wreaked havoc. She had taken control of that Derek boy and played with his life for years together. He didn't even realise how long she had been in the outside world.

 _Nearly two years._ The exact amount of time Derek had been in camp.

He stood from his throne. It was no coincidence that she had chosen that particular boy. He was the perfect candidate. Namely because he was a boy. Secondly, he was a child of the big three. Perfect for manipulating the prophecy. Thirdly, as a son of Poseidon, he would naturally have a large influence on the camp. Many young campers would look up to him. There was no doubt that they would sway their alliances should he choose to side with Kronos.

He needed to help them find Artemis, and fast. It was no coincidence that she had been kidnapped. She was the ONLY one who would be able to fully resist her charms. Second was Aphrodite herself, but the love goddess wasn't a fighter. If charm-speak and seduction wouldn't work, Merediana would simply attack her. Her skill was on par with Perseus's own, which was a feat in itself. Only Olympians like Artemis and Athena could keep up.

He setback in his throne as he thought about the possible predicaments of the other gods.

Ares and the other male gods would be absolutely useless against her. She just had to bat her eyelashes and they would be on their knees, serving her. He frowned in distaste when he remembered the first time he had been bewitched by her beauty and her voice.

It was absolutely horrible. In the end, it was his demonic servants who had come to save him. Being females AND being demons helped them repel the enchantress long enough for him to escape. From that day on, he had trained himself not to fall under such spells ever again.

Sadly, he had clearly underestimated the seductress. He had yet again fell for her charms, though not as strongly, and he had barely managed to make it out alive. Barely. He was on the brink of fading when his brother Poseidon had found him on a beach.

The third time he took a large female force with him. This time it was somewhat of a tie, but still many of his soldiers had died. He went to Ouranos himself for help. There he was trained in the arts of psychic defence and offense. He learnt to mentally project horrifying images. The catch with this was that he should be actually able to transform into those.

Usually, they say that the third time's a charm. But it was actually on the fourth attempt that he managed to successfully defeat her.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when a demoness came running up to him. "My Lord! The boy wasn't strong enough. He...He passed."

He slammed his fist into the throne, cracking it slightly. The members in the room looked at him warily, as if they were secretly preparing to bolt out of the room any moment. He was admittedly a little worried. What was he going to tell his brother? How was he going to explain to Poseidon that he had taken his son to his domain, but he somehow died. It would almost seem as if he killed him. Not to mention that his actions ensured that the camp thought he hated the boy.

He decided to bend the rules. Just this once. He gave the order to return the soul of the boy back to his body. He would personally take the boy back to camp. After all, his soul hadn't reached the Underworld...yet. So he wouldn't exactly be breaking the ancient laws. But this would mean that the boy would only die sooner. But then again, he thought, all demigods die young.

He remembered the day he had finally captured Merediana. He had personally made sure that she wouldn't be able to escape again. He chained her and the demons sewed her mouth shut with imperial gold wires. Very painful. Imperial gold slowly poisons the being, but if immortal, it only keeps the wound open forever, unless treated.

The demons then slashed at her and whipped her so many times until she no longer looked beautiful. Of course, when she escaped it would have all healed completely. She must have somehow bewitched some poor guard. Even in that ugly ass state.

He walked to the centre of the throne room and stood, watching the seven deities of Hell argue with each other. The seven deities of Hell were regular humans who were handpicked by Perseus himself to run the kingdom. Yes, there was a kingdom in Tartarus even though it's hard to believe. Tartarus was much more than a 'bottomless recycling bin of the gods' as the campers put it.

He sighed. He needed to get to that council meeting that Dionysus was about to host. He wasn't a fool. He knew that Merediana would make an appearance during their quest to save Artemis. And if he wasn't there...well let's just say, they'll be screwed. They were merely teenagers. _Hormonal_ teenagers. Something that would be child's play for Merediana. Hell, she even slept with a pope once. And that's saying something.

* * *

 _(At the council meeting in the Big House. Thirty minutes after it started. Three days after the prophecy was given. Three days after Derek was brought back to life)_

Perseus sighed as he massaged his forehead frustratedly. The meeting was going nowhere.

He had returned Derek to the camp, and then he had explained, to the WHOLE camp in the amphitheater about how he was being mind-controlled and how he had taken him to Hell just to purge the lingering effects of the mind control.

At first they had been weary, but when Perseus told Derek to swear on the Styx, and when he did, they began to relax. They accepted him back and he even personally apologised to Bianca, giving her flowers. At first she didn't forgive him, but when she saw that it really wasn't his fault and that he was truly sorry, she forgave him, but warned him to never do such a thing again.

Annabeth had warmed up to him when she got to know how much he had suffered in the past two weeks and she was surprised to see such a great change. Thalia was blatantly adamant, refusing to even acknowledge him. After being warned by Perseus, she decided to give the boy a chance. She quickly realised he wasn't the same. His attitude had done a one-eighty. He was no longer arrogant, or self-centred. He was still a little perverted but not much. Just as much as the other boys in camp.

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of the campers were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.

Perseus conjured up a bottle of whisky and began to drink from it though. Something that made Dionysus livid. But he didn't say anything. He knew he would get his ass handed to him if he tried anything.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca (who had stuck to her ever since that incident in the forest) took the other end. Thalia and Grover and Perseus sat along the right, and the other head councillors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Annabeth Chase and Luke Castellan—sat on the left. For some bloody reason, the Still brothers decided to sit with Luke. Chiron didn't seem to mind. This was an important meeting.

The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Annabeth broke the silence on a positive note. "This is pointless. Let's at least discuss a course of action."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping. Annabeth gave him a glare.

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. Perseus was amazed at how different she looked after just a couple weeks with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded him of someone famous, but couldn't remember who. He vaguely remembered someone like that in the 1900s. But eh, he left it.

She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight. "You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said dismissively. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoe exclaimed. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"Your" Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."

Zoe hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. " Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

Perseus snorted. "You being helpful is like saying that father wants to help humans."

Dionysus glared at Perseus, who merely took another swig of whisky, serving to irritate the god already on probation.

The campers and hunters looked between the two gods hesitantly, as if one of them were to explode suddenly. But nothing happened. Mr. D merely sat back in his chair, drinking the Diet Coke he had conjured up.

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoe grimaced, but everyone could tell Thalia had scored a point.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Perseus smirked at his nephew's expression upon being dissed by Artemis's lieutenant.

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and two," Derek said.

Everybody looked at him. Thalia even forgot to glare at him.

"We're supposed to have five," he said, feeling self-conscious. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

Thalia and Zoe exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers."

Chiron interrupted. "One thing though. You will have to take Perseus with you."

Zoe glared at Chiron. "Why?"

Before Chiron could reply, Perseus spoke, feeling irritated. "Because I know exactly who has caught Artemis, and why. Without me, you will definitely fail."

Thalia raised an eyebrow at what she presumed to be his arrogance.

He continued. "Her name is Merediana." At this, the room became slightly cold for a few seconds. When the temperature became normal, he continued. "She is an enchantress and a seductress."

Zoe snorted. "So?"

He glared at the huntress for interrupting him, making her shrink in her seat.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted. Merediana is firstly, nearly as powerful as me. Secondly, she possesses the ability to charm-speak on a greater level than Aphrodite herself."

Cue the gasps from everyone.

"Thirdly, she can seduce anybody. Much like an empousa. She doesn't discriminate between males and females. Meaning, YOU." He pointed at Zoe. "wouldn't be able to resist her."

Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Perseus. "Trust me. I too fell for her the first three times. Only after that I grew a resistance to it. You are nowhere near that. Not even close."

Zoe realised that he might be right. She had personally seen how devastating Perseus could be when fighting. If this woman was as powerful as him AND had some extra perks like charm-speak and seduction, then she couldn't even fathom of the possibilities.

"Chiron," Derek said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing,"Luke Castellan said. (Perseus noticed how he said you and not we.) "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."

"One shall be lost in the land without rain" Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena said. "What could that mean?"

Perseus saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it. But he sort of figured out what Zoe was thinking. She thought her father Atlas would be free. And he was. But they didn't need to know that.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

Perseus suddenly perked up. "Chiron I...I know the monster Artemis was hunting."

The whole room grew silent and they all stared at him, expecting him to say something like 'BOO!'. But he didn't. He looked at Chiron in the eye and said "Ophiotaurus".

Chiron raised an eyebrow.

Perseus stood up and walked to the front, where a blackboard was present. He drew a circle and divided it into seven segments. He then created another segment.

He looked at them. "I will now explain to all of you how the situation went to shit."

A couple campers snickered. Chiron rolled his eyes at the blatant use of offending language.

Perseus wrote seven names in the circle, one in each segment. Kronos, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, Koios, Mnemosyne and Merediana. In the other segment, he wrote 'Ophiotaurus'.

"So, imagine these are the prisons in Tartarus." He covered Merediana's name by striking all over it. "A few years back, she escaped. And she inherited the body of...Derek!"

The campers looked intrigued. "Now, what you must understand is that she didn't actively control him always. She merely 'made' him do certain things. But I'm afraid that the incident done two weeks back was because she took full control over his body."

They looked at Derek with a little sympathy, feeling guilty that they had judged him so quickly, not bothering to think why he did it.

Thalia finally understood why he had suddenly apologised to her. He must have regained control briefly. She felt guilty for treating him badly even when she knew it wasn't his fault.

"So, to make sure I didn't find out, they placed a fake inside her cell. I didn't even realise...bloody thing. Anyway, a few years later, poof, Hyperion is gone. Soon the mother fucker frees Krios, Iapetus and also manages to steal almost two thirds of Kronos' essence. As of right now, the prison is in complete lockdown. Even I cannot enter if I wanted to."

The campers looked at each other and gulped nervously. Luke fiddled with the hilt of his sword, wondering how they could ever win against such a great force.

Annabeth twirled her dagger around, watching the light bounce off of it in different angles. She started to formulate strategies to take down the titans. She had done some fair amount of research on them already.

Perseus walked back to his seat and promptly plopped on it, causing a slight creak in the woodworks. Chiron stared at him. "That isn't your throne Perseus, it's a wooden chair. It can break."

Perseus rolled his eyes at Chiron's old ways. "You're going senile old man! Nothin' will happen. Chill."

Chiron sighed. Some things never change.

Perseus clapped his hands. "Okay, back to the point"

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

"That's not the point Chiron." Perseus snarked.

Everyone looked at Dionysus. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Derek is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but Luke pulled her back, earning a jab to the ribs from Annabeth, who was feeling jealous no doubt.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoe stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoe nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added..

"Yes," Zoe snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

Perseus knew the Stolls were up to something. He could sense centaur blood from a mile away. Any blood for that matter. But Zoe didn't seem to find anything wrong. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But… I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"Thy will do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

Bianca closed her mouth. Thalia felt kind of sorry for her. She remembered that this was technically her first quest too. She felt totally unprepared. A little honored, maybe, but a lot resentful and plenty scared. She figured the same things were running around in Bianca's head right now.

"And for the campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anything to help Artemis!"

Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."

Grover deflated and sat down.

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

"And I'll go too." Derek said. Everyone looked at him.

"You cannot," Zoe said. "You are a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."

"You traveled here with me," Derek reminded her.

"That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy. Especially not after what he tried to do to Bianca."

Perseus snapped. He grew angry. Zoe was being a prejudiced bitch. She knew full well that it wasn't his fault. Hell, he'd just explained to them how it happened.

"Stop being a bitch Zoe Nightshade. I've explained why it happened. Let him come with us. He can redeem himself by proving his worth. I'm taking him, whether you like it or not."

He abruptly stood from the chair, sending it falling to the ground. He walked out of the room, banging it as he closed it. The councillors looked at each other nervously.

Luke rubbed the back of his head. "So...yeah. We're done right?"

"So be it," Chiron said. "Thalia, Derek and Perseus will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he glanced at Dionysus—"present company included, we hope—be with you."

.

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* * *

 **A/N :**

 **So...at the moment, the polls are as follows.**

 **Hestia: 5**

 **Thalia: 2**

 **Bianca: 2**

 **Annabeth: 2**

 **Percabeth, Perlia and Peranca fans better hurry. The poll closes in a week. That's right people. Seven days.**


	8. The Homeless Magician

**Hi guys. I know you people have a some questions. I'll clear them out now. To the guy who said that the gods didn't condemn Derek's actions. You are absolutely right. However, the thing is that firstly, Perseus had already taken care of it. Secondly, Dionysus doesn't give a rat's ass about the campers. Thirdly, the male gods don't give a shit. They themselves have raped women on multiple occasions. Poseidon and Demeter? Zeus and Demeter? Fourthly, Zeus already dislikes the girl, her being Hades' daughter, and either way he wouldn't have done shit. Fifthly, people do not want to mess with Poseidon. Poseidon loves his children, evil or not. Remember that Odysseus' crew got lost for TEN years because they blinded Polyphemus. Imagine if the person did something to his half-blood child...**

 **Also, someone said that I wasn't giving Annabeth much importance in story. Yeah...I realised. It's just becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all the characters. So when I wrote down a whole chapter. I then realised Annabeth was present but didn't say much, which was out of her character. I...I'll try to include her more often.**

 **I hope that answers your doubts. Thx for pointing out anyway. It shows that you guys actually read the story.**

 **And for the votes.**

 **Hestia: 8**  
 **Annabeth: 5**  
 **Thalia: 3**  
 **Bianca: 3**  
 **Artemis: 1  
Athena: 1**  
 **Harem: 2**

 **Wow. Looks like Hestia is leading. Don't worry. Another six days remain.**

* * *

 _Previously on The Devil,_

 _"Stop being a bitch Zoe Nightshade. I've explained why it happened. Let him come with us. He can redeem himself by proving his worth. I'm taking him, whether you like it or not."_

 _He abruptly stood from the chair, sending it falling to the ground. He walked out of the room, banging it as he closed it. The councillors looked at each other nervously._

 _Luke rubbed the back of his head. "So...yeah. We're done right?"_

 _"So be it," Chiron said. "Thalia, Derek and Perseus will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he glanced at Dionysus—"present company included, we hope—be with you."_

* * *

The trip through the city went in perfect silence. Nobody dared to speak. Thalia stared outside the window. Her eyes started to droop. It had been a few hours since they had left camp and not one single monster was in sight. She didn't know whether that was good or not.

They were down to four members in the quest, excluding Perseus. The Stolls had poisoned Phoebe using the T-shirt. They had sprayed centaur blood on the inside. Perseus sighed. It was fates' will it seemed. He knew that being a fully fledged immortal meant that he didn't count as a fifth member.

The fates. Oh how he hated them with every fiber of his being. He would tear them to pieces should he ever catch sight of them. Those blasted grandmas were the main reason he had lost so much...

His daughter...Sarina. She had been killed just because of their unnecessary meddling. He tried to keep his calm. They hadn't even let her go to his realm. No. She had faded into the Void, with all the other faded deities. He pressed his lips together tightly. Oh they would pay. One fine day. For now he decided to focus on the task at hand.

Thalia looked at Perseus. He had regained his calm aura and wasn't nervous. A determined expression was set on his face. She couldn't tell what he was thinking because his face was stoic. She cast a glance at Derek, who was on the other side, staring out of the window. She sighed. Maybe Perseus was right. In the one week that he had gotten back, he hadn't so much as looked at her or Annabeth that way. He spoke to them normally. He didn't unnecessarily pick fights with her. He wasn't acting snobbish and arrogant.

It was as if someone replaced his brain. She shook her head, trying to rid herself off of the sleep that was closing in. She tried. In an effort to not fall asleep, she watched the city through the windows.

Buildings and trees passed them and several cars speeded by, overtaking them many times. Zoe and Bianca had taken the driver's seat and shotgun, respectively. The rest of them sat in the back, with Zoe weaving in and out of traffic. She wondered where on earth had she learned to drive like that. Then again, she thought bitterly, she must have been driving for a long time.

She leaned back and let herself fall to sleep. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she remembered the dream.

She was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above her. Lou was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, Thalia knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her.

 _"How is our mortal guest?"_ a male voice boomed.

It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. She'd heard it taunting her many times before in her dreams. But this voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. It's force made the ground vibrate.

Ethan emerged from the shadows. He ran to Lou, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man. "She's fading. We must hurry."

The hypocrite. Like he really cared what happened to her.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of her dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light—Artemis—her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.

Thalia gasped. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

 _"You heard the boy,"_ said the man in the shadows. _"Decide!"_

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. Thalia didn't know why she just didn't will the chains to burst, or make herself disappear, but she didn't seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place.

The goddess looked at Lou and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"

"She will die soon," Ethan said. "You can save her."

Lou made a weak sound of protest. Thalia's heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. She didn't know Lou very well, but it hurt her to see a fellow camper being treated like this. She wanted to run to her, but she couldn't move.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Ethan brought out his sword. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs.

Artemis ran to Lou and took the burden from her shoulders. Lou collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks.

The man in the shadows chuckled. _"You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."_

"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."

 _"Indeed it will not,"_ the man said. _"Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."_

Artemis groaned "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."

 _"On that,"_ the man said, _"we can agree. Ethan, you may kill the girl now."_

"No!'" Artemis shouted.

Ethan hesitated. "She—she may yet be useful, sir...Further bait."

 _"Bah! You truly believe that?"_

"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure."

The man considered. _"Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."_

Ethan gathered up Lou's listless body and carried her away from the goddess.

"You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail."

 _"How little you know, my young goddess,"_ the man in the shadows said. _"Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is… challenging."_

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.

* * *

Luke knew very well that Perseus didn't count as a member of the prophecy. The prophecy clearly stated that campers and hunters would work together. He was pretty sure that the devil didn't count as a camper. Even though he stayed for a few weeks.

So what did he do? He followed them of course. It was actually Annabeth who had badly wanted to go. She didn't want to leave her friend alone. But Luke had made her stay. The camp had to be run by somebody. Both Derek and Thalia were on the quest. Luke didn't have as much authority as Annabeth did. Plus, Athena didn't want her on a quest with Derek AGAIN. Two is enough, she said.

Though it was a pain in the ass trying to convince Annabeth to borrow her invisibility cap. She had argued with him for half an hour straight. Finally, she had relented, after warning him to return it in one piece.

Luke looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the five of them trudged off into the cold wind.

He started to follow. But then he froze.

A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on him that he'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.

The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of my friends.

The worst of it was: when he turned toward him, he recognized his face. It was the manticore. He had encountered it on his quest to the gardens of the Hesperides. Annabeth said that he was called Dr. Thorn.

Invisibility cap on, he followed Thorn from a distance. His heart was pounding. Thorn kept well back from his friends, careful not to be seen.

Finally, Derek stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! He'd been here once when Annabeth, he and Thalia were on the run, but everything had looked so much bigger then.

Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.

Dr. Thorn hesitated. Luke wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. He made a split-second decision and followed him.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. At first Luke thought it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then he realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.

He followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and he had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again.

Inside, what he saw was so terrible he almost gasped out loud, which probably would've gotten him killed.

He was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs. He'd seen them before. Annabeth had called them Scythian dracaenae.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women—He could swear he was looking straight down at him—was his old enemy Ethan. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his black hair looked almost gray, as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eye was still there, and his eyepatch was still there. Though it looked like he had changed it. It looked a little more fashionable than a regular old brown eyepatch. This one was black.

Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All Luke could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.

 _"Well?"_ asked the man in the chair. His voice was not as creepy as Kronos's, but deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.

Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."

 _"I know that, you fool,"_ boomed the man. _"But where?"_

"In the rocket museum."

"The Air and Space Museum," Ethan corrected irritably.

Dr. Thorn glared at Ethan. "As you say, sir"

Luke got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Ethan with one of his spikes as call him sir.

"How many?" Ethan asked.

Thorn pretended not to hear.

 _"How many?"_ the General demanded.

"Five, General," Thorn said. "The demigod, Derek LeBeau. The girl with the spiky black hair and the—how do you say—punk clothes and the horrible shield."

"Thalia," Ethan said.

"And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."

 _"That one I know,"_ the General growled.

"But General, Perseus is also there"

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Let me take them," Ethan said to the General. "We have more than enough—"

 _"Patience,"_ the General said. _"They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied. Perseus has to follow the ancient laws. He will not be a problem."_

"But—"

 _"We cannot risk you, my boy."_

"Yes, boy," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let me finish them off."

 _"No."_ The General rose from his chair, and Luke got his first look at him.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. Luke felt as if he were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.

 _"You have already failed me, Thorn,"_ he said.

"But, General—"

 _"No excuses!"_

Thorn flinched. Luke thought Thorn was scary when he first saw him in front of the Garden of the Hesperides. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander.

 _"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me NOTHING!."_

"But you promised me revenge.'" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

 _"I am Lord Kronos's senior commander,"_ the General said. _"And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Ethan that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, fool, until I find some other menial task for you."_

Thorn's face turned purple with rage. Luke thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

 _"Now, my boy."_ The General turned to Ethan. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her. And make sure that my cousin is nowhere near her. He is going to ruin everything! Do not attack him under any circumstances. If you leave him alone, then he cannot attack. Sometimes the ancient laws are so effective."

"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Ethan said. "Zoe Nightshade—"

 _"Do not speak her name!"_

Ethan swallowed. "S—sorry, General. I just—"

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. _"Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down."_

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. _"Do you have the teeth?"_

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"

 _"Plant them,"_ he said.

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where Luke guessed a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. He watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"

 _"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."_

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and Luke got the feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.

The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Ethan, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Ethan clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"

"Ha.'" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"

He thought Ethan turned paler when the General said that.

"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a thousandfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted. Luke stepped back nervously.

In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said:

"Mew?"

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, _"What is this? Ugly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"_

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—"

 _"No, you moron! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those… those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."_

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

 _"You."_ The General pointed to another guard. _"Get me the right teeth. NOW!"_

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

 _"Imbeciles,"_ muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Ethan said. "They are unreliable."

 _"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent,"_ the General said. _"I love them."_

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.

 _"Excellent,"_ the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.

Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. _"Curse my stiff neck."_

"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

 _"No! It will pass."_ The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. _"I shall do this myself."_

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. _"Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."_

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. _Rise!_

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up at the balcony. _"Quickly, do you have the scent?"_

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

 _"Excellent,"_ the General said. _"Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"_

As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as Luke watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.

One of them looked straight at Luke, regarding him coldly, and he knew instantly that no cap of invisibility would fool it.

The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct.

Luke didn't have time to think. He ran and jumped with all his might, plowing into the warriors and snatching the scarf out of the air.

"What's this?" bellowed the General.

He landed at the feet of a skeleton warrior, who hissed.

"An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"

"It's Luke Castellan!" Ethan yelled. "It has to be."

Luke sprinted for the exit, but heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had taken a chunk out of his sleeve. When he glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind him.

And then he ran.

* * *

Another hour later, they had reached a museum, where they were retracing the goddess's steps. Perseus cursed inwardly. He knew exactly where they were supposed to go. But he couldn't say anything yet. He wasn't allowed to interfere for the first twelve hours. After that, he could screw all ancient laws.

He trailed behind the group , watching all the mortal children running around and dragging their parents. His heart ached at the sight. What would he do to get his daughter back. But he knew he couldn't. She was beyond saving. Even the fates couldn't bring her back if they wanted to. That's why he was all the more angry. Bloody little shits knew all along what would happen. Still they decided to tell her to go.

Firstly he would destroy Merediana. The bitch who killed his daughter. He would make her suffer. Make her wish she were dead.

Meanwhile, Luke was running. He ran into the mall and crashed into Thalia—literally. He was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule.

Derek yelped in surprise.

Before he could regain my balance, Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at his chest. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.

When Zoe realized who he was, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"

"Luke!" Derek said. "Thank goodness."

Zoe glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, shit. You're not supposed to be here!"

"Ethan," Luke said, trying to catch his breath. "He's here."

The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"

Luke told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Ethan, and the General.

"The General is here?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."

"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors—"

"What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"

"Twelve," Luke said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster."

Thalia and Derek exchanged looks. Perseus stood there, twiddling with his thumbs and generally looking elsewhere.

"We were following Artemis's trail," Derek said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Grover gave us a tracker. Some powerful monster scent… She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet." He showed a piece of wood, that was apparently the tracker.

"Zoe," Bianca said nervously, "if it is the General—"

"It cannot be!" Zoe snapped. "Luke must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," He told her.

Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. He didn't know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew this General guy, but he figured now wasn't the time to ask. "If Luke is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible… We must leave now."

"Good idea," Luke said.

"I was not including thee, boy," Zoe said. "You are not part of this quest."

"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"

"You shouldn't have come, Luke," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."

"That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.

Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoe growled. "You never could leave them behind!"

Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze, Luke heard a growl so loud he thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.

Below them, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"

Perseus sighed. Not now. Especially when he wasn't allowed to interfere. Though he supposed. He could help them by easing the fear in their minds. Subconsciously. Who would know. He wasn't really breaking the rules. Just bending it, to the extreme.

Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. Luke had seen this monster once before. Four years ago, he'd glimpsed it briefly from a train. Now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."

The lion roared so loud it parted her hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel. But she should have been scared to shit. Somehow, she felt at ease. As if someone was removing the fear from her.

"Separate on my mark," Zoe said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Derek asked.

"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"

Luke unsheathed Backbiter and rolled to the left. Arrows whistled past him, and Derek uncapped Riptide. Luke turned and saw Zoe and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lions metallic fur. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Derek threw a stone at it's side, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. "ROOOAAAR!"

"Hi-yah!" Thalia said. "Back!"

The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire.

For a second, Luke thought Thalia had it under control. Then he saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. he'd seen enough cat fights in the alleys around his house. He knew the lion was going to pounce.

"Hey!" He yelled. He didn't know what he was thinking, but he charged the beast. He just wanted to get it away from his friends. He slashed with Backbiter, a good strike to the flank that should've cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.

The lion raked him with its claws, ripping off a chunk of his coat. Luke backed against the railing. It sprang at him, one thousand pounds of monster, and he had no choice but to turn and jump.

He landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost spilled him to the floor, three stories below.

An arrow whizzed past his head. The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords holding the plane began to groan.

The lion swiped at him, and he dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter. He looked up and saw the lion roar—inside its maw, a pink tongue and throat.

It's mouth, he thought. Its fur was completely invulnerable, but if he could strike it in the mouth… The only problem was, the monster moved too quickly. Between its claws and fangs, he couldn't get close without getting sliced to pieces.

"Zoe!" Luke shouted. "Target the mouth!"

The monster lunged. An arrow zipped past it, missing completely, and he dropped from the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. He slid down Russia and dropped off the equator.

The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off onto the model earth's North Pole.

"Derek!" Luke yelled. "Clear the area!"

Groups of kids were running around screaming. Derek tried to corral them away from the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from him, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded them both, trying to decide who to kill first.

Zoe and Bianca were above, bows ready, but they kept having to move around to get a good angle. Perseus whistled merrily as he watched the group take down the monster.

"No clear shot!" Zoe yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"

The lion snarled from the top of the globe.

Luke looked around. Options. He needed…

"Thalia," He said, "keep it occupied."

She nodded grimly.

"Hi-yah!" She pointed her spear and a spidery arc of blue electricity shot out, zapping the lion in the tail.

"ROOOOOOOAR!" The lion turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding up Aegis to keep the monster at bay, and Luke ran for the gift shop.

"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoe yelled.

He dashed into the shop, knocking over rows of T-shirts, jumping over tables full of glow-in-the-dark planets and space ooze. The sales lady didn't protest. She was too busy cowering behind her cash register.

There! On the far wall—glittery silver packets. Whole racks of them. He scooped up every kind he could find and ran out of the shop with an armful.

Zoe and Bianca were still showering arrows on the monster, but it was no good. The lion seemed to know better than to open its mouth too much. It snapped at Thalia, slashing with its claws. It even kept its eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

Thalia jabbed at the monster and backed up. The lion pressed her.

"Luke," she called, "whatever you're going to do—"

The lion roared and swatted her like a cat toy, sending her flying into the side of a Titan rocket. Her head hit the metal and she slid to the floor.

"Hey! Boris the Animal!" Luke yelled at the lion. He was too far away to strike, so he took a risk: He hurled Backbiter like a throwing knife. It bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monster's attention. It turned toward him and snarled.

There was only one way to get close enough. He charged, and as the lion leaped to intercept him, he chunked a space food pouch into its maw—a chunk of cellophane-wrapped, freeze-dried strawberry parfait.

The lion's eyes got wide and it gagged like a cat with a hairball.

Luke couldn't blame it. He remembered feeling the same way when he'd tried to eat space food as a kid. The stuff was just plain nasty.

"Zoe, get ready!" Luke yelled.

Behind him, he could hear people screaming.

He scrambled away from the lion. It managed to choke down the space food packet and looked at him with pure hate.

"Snack time!" Luke yelled.

It made the mistake of roaring at him, and he got an ice-cream sandwich in its throat. Fortunately, he had always been a pretty good pitcher, he had been one of the best at baseball. Before the lion could stop gagging, he shot in two more flavors of ice cream and a freeze-dried spaghetti dinner.

The lion's eyes bugged. It opened its mouth wide and reared up on its back paws, trying to get away from him.

"Now!" He yelled.

Immediately, arrows pierced the lion's maw—two, four, six. The lion thrashed wildly, turned, and fell backward. And then it was still.

Perseus floated down, clapping his hands. "Well done."

The questers glared at him, causing him to raise his arms in mock surrender.

Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running around in a panic with no idea what was going on.

Perseus knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed. Zoe and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed next to Luke.

Zoe eyed Luke cautiously. "That was… an interesting strategy."

"Hey, it worked."

She didn't argue.

The lion seemed to be melting, the way dead monsters do sometimes, until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of a normal lion's pelt.

"Take it," Zoe told Luke.

He stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"

"It is a spoil of war," she told him. "It is rightly thine."

"You killed it," He said.

She shook her head, almost smiling. "I think thy ice-cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Luke Castellan. Take the fur."

He lifted it up; it was surprisingly light. The fur was smooth and soft. It didn't feel at all like something that could stop a blade. As he watched, the pelt shifted and changed into a coat—a full-length golden-brown duster.

"Not exactly my style," he murmured.

"We have to get out of here," Perseus said. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."

I noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to arrest us. They were scrambling in all directions except ours, like they were madly searching for something. A few were running into the walls or each other.

"You did that?" Luke asked Perseus.

He nodded. "I can't directly interfere for a while. So in the name of screwing around with mortals, I made them confused. They'll be attacking each other soon."

"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoe said. "Look."

Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for us to see their eyes, but I could feel their gaze aimed straight at me.

Thalia looked at Perseus. "Can't you do anything?"

"Sorry, until one of them attacks me, I cannot try anything. Notice how the lion didn't even glance at me. The General had probably given the lion some instructions."

They looked at him, hopes deflated. But then he suddenly got an idea. "Well, why don't we go. I've got an idea. Just might work."

"Go," Luke said. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."

"No," Zoe said. "We go together."

He stared at her. "But, you said—"

"You are part of this quest now," Zoe said grudgingly. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."

* * *

They were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one they'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward them.

Perseus jumped in glee upon seeing the helicopter. "Oh yes. Now I can do something."

The questers looked at him weirdly. He leaned back into his seat, causing discomfort to Zoe, who sat beside him, grudgingly. Not that he cared how she felt. His eyes turned red for two whole seconds. Suddenly they heard a loud BOOM! Like an explosion.

They suddenly looked out of the window, to see a half-blown helicopter spiralling downwards straight into the traffic. It's rotors were screwed up and the back half of the chopper was blown away.

They looked at Perseus. "What!" He exclaimed.

Thalia shook her head. He might be the Lord of Hell but he acted like a three year old sometimes.

Zoe got suspicious. "Why did you not help us back then? How did the rules not apply now?"

"Because back there, I wasn't attacked."

"And you weren't attacked now either."

"Well, to be honest, I kinda knew that you guys could handle it. Besides, there would be no use of the quest if I could just blast my way to our destination. That's another reason I'm not allowed to teleport you guys to Artemis's location."

Zoe whipped her head around, glaring at him. "What!" She hissed. "Where is she?"

"Can't say. At least for another ... three and a half hours. After that, I'll directly teleport us to the location."

"Why three and a half hours?" Luke asked.

"Actually, I'm not a god. I'm just a full immortal. The thing is that I am not bound by most ancient laws. Hence why i saved Thalia in Westover. Secondly, I can interfere in quests, but only AFTER the first twelve hours of the quest."

"Oooohhh!" Thalia said.

"That's why you stood there like an idiot!" Zoe exclaimed.

Perseus's eyes flashed dangerously, shifting from sea-green to red and back.

The demigods noticed this. Zoe gulped, seeing the anger on his face. Perhaps she shouldn't have said that.

"I'm sorry I didn't mea—"

"It's fine. I...I'm just not so used to people other than my siblings talking to me like that."

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Luke said, interrupting the silence. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" I asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Perseus shook his head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters. I know that better than anyone."

Derek stared at him curiously. "What do you mean you know that better than anyone?"

Perseus sighed. "All these years. For millennia I have been sent the worst of the worst of souls to deal with. Murderers, Rapists, Terrorists, Hitler. Do you know how hard it is. Best part is that they want to escape punishment quickly. Burn me! They say...so I burn them. I do not add my own punishments most of the times. Still...mortals feel it's right to blame ME for everything!"

"But aren't you the devil?"

"I do NOT encourage them to do evil. I don't sit on their shoulders telling them what to do! Go on! Read any bloody where. Search my name, the other one. You will find it. Arrogant. Proud. EVIL. LIAR!"

He was close to shouting now. They saw how this was such a touchy subject for him.

"What did I EVER do to deserve all of that? All I did was keep Olympus safe, even after they betrayed me. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN KING!" He yelled.

"Zeus STOLE my birthright! I defeated Father! I should have inherited the throne." He said bitterly. He climbed to the back of the van, away from everyone else. The questers were visibly shaken by his outburst. They hadn't known all that. They most certainly didn't know that he felt that way about his image. They just sat there, not saying a single word.

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. They left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As the train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

Luke let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Derek frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, Thalia knew nothing about D.C., but she didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. She knew everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoe said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. She didn't want to break it to her just yet.

Unfortunately, when they finally got off the train they found themselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here. Luke was glad for his new lion's fur coat.

They wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. They looked pretty pathetic, because he gave them a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!'

They huddled around his fire, Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

"Feet," Luke corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy.

"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron—"

"No," Zoe said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

Luke gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And he were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless person's fire.

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," He said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly he noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's… convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…homeless dude."

He flashed her a toothy grin. The questers got into the train. Perseus looked at the homeless dude. "Change yourself man, you look like a homeless magician."

* * *

An hour later they were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because everyone got their own luxury car. Zoe and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C. Perseus was sitting in the driver's seat of a Maserati.

"Join you?" Luke asked Thalia.

She blushed, but nodded, so he climbed into the shotgun seat.

The radio was playing the White Stripes. He knew the song. Thalia had played this many times when they were on the run. They chatted away for a long time. She and Luke couldn't speak for long. Both had duties at camp and Luke had been distant lately. But now it looked like he was coming back to his old self.

* * *

Derek had one of the wildest dreams.

In his dream, he was somebody else. He was wearing an old-fashioned Greek tunic, which was a little too breezy downstairs, and laced leather sandals. The Nemean Lion's skin was wrapped around his back like a cape, and he was running somewhere, being pulled along by a girl who was tightly gripping his hand.

"Hurry!" she said. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but he could hear the fear in her voice. "He will find us!"

It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. They were running through tall grass, and the scent of a thousand different flowers made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden, and yet the girl was leading him through it, as if they were about to die.

"I'm not afraid," He tried to tell her.

"You should be!" she said, pulling him along. She had long dark hair braided down her back. Her silk robes glowed faintly in the starlight.

They raced up the side of the hill. She pulled him behind a thorn bush and they collapsed, both breathing heavily. He didn't know why the girl was scared. The garden seemed so peaceful. And he felt strong. Stronger than he'd ever felt before.

"There is no need to run," He told her. His voice sounded deeper, much more confident. "I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."

"Not this one," the girl said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way."

The hurt in her voice surprised him. She was really concerned, almost like she cared about him.

"I don't trust your father," He said.

"You should not," the girl agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die.'"

He chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"

"I… I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out… they would disown me."

"Then there's nothing for it." He stood up, rubbing my hands together.

"Wait." the girl said.

She seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, her fingers trembling, she reached up and plucked a long white brooch from her hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. My immortal power."

The girl breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone.

"Take it," she told him. "And make of it a weapon."

He laughed. "A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"

"It may not," she admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."

The girl's voice softened his heart. He reached down and took the hairpin, and as he did, it grew longer and heavier in his hand, until he held a familiar bronze sword.

"Well balanced," he said. "Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I name this blade?"

"Anaklusmos," the girl said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea."

Before he could thank her, there was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and the girl said, "Too late! He is here!"

There was a shift in the scenery. Derek noticed that he was no longer looking through the eyes of that other person. He was watching from a few feet distance. He watched as Heracles (he figured it out) defeated the monster with his bare hands. Then, he walked past the girl who had helped him as if she wasn't even there.

Derek's jaw dropped in shock. The girl was Zoe Nightshade.

She cried out. "Please! You promised to take me with you!"

Heracles turned around. "If you want me so much, I shall grant your wish."

Derek watched as the greatest hero of all time brutally raped Zoe. He dropped his head in shame as he realised that he had almost done the same thing to Bianca.

He tried to run towards her and push him off, but couldn't even budge.

He watched in horror as her clothes were torn and he forced himself upon her. Derek tried to close his eyes. He couldn't bear to watch such a horrible deed. Even his eyelids weren't responding.

He woke up in sweats, panting, to see Perseus looming over him.

"Now you understand why Zoe hates you so much don't you Derek? You wield his sword. You know...he even just left her there after that."

Derek looked at him, his face was still covered in sweat due to him shaking around violently. "Wha...But...Why?"

Perseus sighed and sat next to him. "Her feelings of hatred towards you only reinforced because of Merediana. Do not worry. You are worthy of the blade."

The questers and Perseus exited the train. They had gotten out of the station when the station suddenly exploded. BOOM!

People ran around here and there. The demigods and hunters were knocked to the ground from the force of the explosion. Perseus stood there, covering his face.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Luke yelled.

They stood, and saw Perseus standing there, back turned towards them. He held his red and black blade in his right hand. He was no longer wearing his suit. It was replaced with form fitting black armour. The breastplate covered till his shoulders. His biceps were left bare, and black gauntlets covered his fore arms.

Black studded boots were covering him feet up to his knees. He had black combat pants underneath. A dark black cape that glittered in the sunlight was flowing from his back. He faced the explosion.

From the explosion, they saw the silhouette of a woman. Luke instantly fell in love with her figure. Her curves were absolutely perfect. She walked, swaying her hips as she made her way about ten feet in front of her. Her face was completely flawless and her luscious brown hair tumbled down at the sides. Her lips were curled in a seductive smirk.

When she got closer, they saw what she wore. It wasn't something you'd wear to a fight. More like a beach. She wore a two piece rainbow coloured bikini that showed her completely.

Luke and Derek were openly drooling. Saliva formed in their open mouths and some dripped to the ground. She was THE most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He had seen Aphrodite, she wasn't even close. And it wasn't even a spell. Luke could see that much. She was genuinely THAT beautiful. He had the urge to kneel in front of her and obey her.

Thalia was sure she was NOT lesbian, but she still felt so...so horny looking at the woman. Even Zoe and Bianca had uncomfortable feelings. Bianca felt the urge to jump the woman and kiss her.

Even Zoe. For the first time in a long time, she felt something down there. Her core felt hot, and she realised she had gotten her underwear soaked.

Only Perseus stood straight, sword out. He growled. "Merediana"

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* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So how was the description of Merediana? Is it ok? How was this chapter? Pls review. Thx for reading.**

 **Until next time.**


	9. Bloody Mortality

_Previously on The Devil,_

 _Thalia was sure she was NOT lesbian, but she still felt so...so horny looking at the woman. Even Zoe and Bianca had uncomfortable feelings. Bianca felt the urge to jump the woman and kiss her._

 _Even Zoe. For the first time in a long time, she felt something down there. Her core felt hot, and she realised she had gotten her underwear soaked._

 _Only Perseus stood straight, sword out. He growled. "Merediana"_

* * *

Merediana walked towards Perseus, her hips swaying as she did so. He was transfixed in her form, but suddenly he snapped out of it, bringing his blade in front.

She looked at Derek, who nearly swooned with pleasure. She cooed at him. "How are you my little mortal toy?" Derek fell down in surprise and passed out when he realised she was talking to him. His heart couldn't take the excitement.

"Not another step"

"Aww." She purred. "Am I not good enough for you?"

He shook his head. Her voice was the most melodious. It always had been. But now it was even more. It was as if she gained new powers. He remembered it being easier than this to fight her charm-speak. He glanced at the demigods and the hunters. Pathetic. They were drooling all over the ground. Hell, Zoe, Bianca and Thalia were completely wet. He could see their juices spilling out. He turned back, only for a fist rocketing at him.

He ducked and pushed her off of him with enough force to send her crashing to the ground. He held his blade 'Nothos' in front of him protectively. He looked at Merediana in the eye. Big mistake.

He was drawn to it, unable to move. He felt a sharp pain in his side and saw one of her daggers embedded into his gut. He gasped and dropped to one knee. Nothos fell from his grasp and clattered to the ground.

"My my Perseus. It seems someone has not been practicing in my absence. Did it hurt?" She mocked.

His vision started to blur, but he managed to keep a steady hand on the dagger and yank it out. He threw it aside and picked up Nothos. Suddenly she lunged forward nearly catching him with her dagger. He raised Nothos and blocked it. But his mind was clouded. Her magic wasn't allowing him to think straight. He didn't see the next attack.

She swung her remaining dagger and tore a deep gash in his side. By now, Perseus was struggling to stand. He only looked at her in shock. "H-How?"

She smirked at him and leaned forward, showing the top part of her breasts. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Perseus saw that only one of her daggers was in her hand and she was in an unstable position. He suddenly lunged forward and slammed into her, knocking them both to the ground. Somehow, he got on top of her, Nothos at her throat.

She gulped nervously, but didn't show her fear. "Hmm Perseus. If you really wanted a good time you should have come to me ages ago."

She brought her head closer to his ear and spoke, sending shivers of pleasure through him. "I would have given you a reeaallly good time."

His grip on Nothos slackened and the next moment, he found himself on the ground, with Merediana on top, grinding her hips on his...crotch, which had chosen the perfect moment to harden. She gasped a little upon the sudden hardening, then smirked.

He stood no chance now. Just when she brought her dagger upwards and was about to thrust it into his heart, he grabbed her hand and flipped the direction of the dagger. He pushed with all his might and made her stab herself. It wasn't a very lethal wound, but he knew that she was always taken down with simple strikes. She just couldn't handle pain. It was why her tortures were always physical.

He then used her moment of incapacitation and grabbed her by her feet. Using his remaining strength, which was quickly dwindling, he spun a few times and flung her into the sky as far away as he could.

All he saw before blacking out was her form disappearing out of the city hopefully. He dropped to the ground like a bag of sacks, right there in the middle of the road, not caring if anyone saw him.

* * *

When Perseus had woken up, they had arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

Even with his lion-skin coat, he was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. Wait. Lion skin coat. He got up suddenly from his position and winced in pain as he did. Apparently they had put it on him.

He checked himself and groaned. Red blood. The stupid dagger made him mortal.

At least, for a while. A day and he'd be in tip top condition, back to ichor. But now...now he couldn't even walk properly. The bitch had used one of THE strongest poisons. Stolen from his own private collection no doubt.

He gave a dry chuckle. A taste of your own medicine indeed.

The questers had checked him over completely, asking if he was okay. A lot. Frankly, they were very unnerved that the dagger made him mortal. They knew that their weapons couldn't even pierce his skin. So yeah. They were scared. And also the fact that the girls had completely wet themselves, and it wasn't piss.

So they immediately changed into their spare clothes which they had brought. Zoe was no longer wearing a hunter's uniform but a regular shorts and t-shirt. Same with Thalia and Bianca. Derek and Luke had to change their underwear. It was THE most embarrassing moments for the five of them. They realised just why Perseus was so unnerved by her. She was truly dangerous. Had he not been there, they would have been dead for sure.

They stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Luke.

"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."

"And pastries," Luke said dreamily.

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you three go get us some food. Derek, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

They agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with Thalia and Derek, but she did.

Inside the store, they found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

The clerk looked so lonely, Derek bought a rubber rat. Then they headed back outside and stood on the porch.

"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."

"But the clerk said—"

"I know," she told Derek. "I'm checking anyway."

He let her go. He knew how it felt to be restless. All half-bloods had attention deficit problems because of the inborn battlefield reflexes. They couldn't stand just waiting around.

Bianca and Derek stood together awkwardly. He was never very comfortable talking one-on-one with girls anyway. He wasn't sure what to say, especially now after Merediana had taken over him and used him to almost rape her.

"Nice rat," she said at last.

He set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store.

"So… how do you like being a Hunter so far?" He asked.

She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?"

"Nah. Long as, you know… you're happy."

"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality."

He stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied back, and she looked him right in the eyes when she spoke, even if he had almost...

"Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured. She looked at him like she wanted assurance it was okay.

"He'll be all right," He said. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Annabeth and would have done for you or anyone."

Bianca nodded. "I...I am lucky to have a friend like you Derek."

"Lot of good it did you."

"Don't blame yourself Derek. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good guy."

The compliment took him by surprise. "Even though I nearly..."

He didn't finish the sentence. She knew exactly what he was talking about. She frowned. She didn't blame him. Why was he still beating himself up.

She looked down and bit her lip. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good guy. And I know it wasn't your fault."

A couple hundred yards away, Luke and Zoe came out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks. Perseus was in between them, an arm on each of their shoulders, barely standing up. Derek kind of didn't want them to come back yet. It was weird, but he realized he liked talking to Bianca, and not because of that. He genuinely liked her. She wasn't so bad. A lot easier to hang out with than Zoe Nightshade, anyway.

"So what's the story with you and Nico?" He asked her. "Where did you go to school before Westover?"

She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."

"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?"

"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."

"Why?"

She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then… I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover."

It was a strange story. Then again, Bianca and Nico were half-bloods. Nothing would be normal for them.

"So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" He asked. "Just the two of you?"

She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico—don't get me wrong—I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."

He thought about last summer, the way he'd felt when he found out he had a Cyclops for a baby brother. He could relate to what Bianca was saying.

"Zoe seems to trust you," He said. "What were you guys talking about, anyway—something dangerous about the quest?"

"When?"

Yesterday morning on the pavilion," He said, before he could stop himself. "Something about the General."

Her face darkened. "How did you… The invisibility hat. Were you eavesdropping?"

"No! I mean, not really. I just—"

He was saved from trying to explain when Zoe, Perseus and Luke arrived with the drinks and pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca and Derek. Coffee for them. Derek got a blueberry muffin, and it was so good he could almost ignore the outraged look Bianca was giving him.

Zoe and Luke helped Perseus to sit on the chair. He sighed and dug into his food. Now that he was temporarily mortal, Thalia could see him acting and behaving like one. He wasn't as temperamental and he actually ate food. She didn't see him eat or sleep ever before. Well...everything's a first.

Perseus groaned. "Bloody mortality."

They looked at him. "My skin feels oily. What is this horrible substance! Why is liquid dripping down from my head when I walk!"

The questers really tried hard not to laugh. But they had to. Luke was the worst. He had a muffin in his mouth that went flying into Thalia's plate.

"BWAHAHAH!"

An amused Thalia suddenly got angry. She looked at the muffin, then at Luke's laughing face. She zapped him with enough electricity to make his clothes smoke.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK THALIA!"

The group started laughing at his expense. Even Perseus. Finally, when they'd all calmed down, shit hit the fan when the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the building on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes.

They drew their handguns. Luke used to think it would be kind of cool to learn how to shoot a gun, but he changed his mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at him.

Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into me.

Luke drew Backbiter, though he wasn't sure what good it would do against guns.

Derek drew Riptide.

Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Perseus kept swooning and leaning against her. Clearly the dagger had a big effect on him.

"Back up," Thalia said.

They started to—but then Luke heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind them. They were surrounded.

Luke wondered where the other skeletons were. He'd seen a dozen at the Smithsonian. Then one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it.

Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone. Suddenly he understood what was going on. The skeletons had split up to look for them. These skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon they'd have a full party on their hands.

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Percy that way."

"Agreed," said Zoe.

A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but Luke kept his eyes on the skeletons. He remembered the General gloating over Lou's fate. He remembered the way Ethan had betrayed her.

And he charged.

The first skeleton fired. Time slowed down. Somehow, he managed to dodge it by rolling. The skeleton drew a baton and he sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then he swung Backbiter through his waist and cut him in half.

His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at him and tried to fire, but he knocked his gun into the snow.

Luke thought he was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot him in the back.

"LUKE!" Thalia screamed.

He landed facedown in the street. Then he realized something… he wasn't dead. The impact of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they had hadn't hurt. But that was what confused him. He wasn't wearing the lion coat...

He glanced at Perseus, who wasn't even standing now. His face was completely haggard and he was kneeling in the snow breathing heavily, as if he had run across the country. Luke realised that he must have used the last of his powers to save him.

Perseus stared at him, then crawled over and dropped a pen in his hands. "U-U-Use it. I-It c-can k-kill them."

Luke stared at the pen. It was a beautiful pen. He remembered Annabeth saying that the pen costed sixty thousand dollars in the mortal world. He uncapped it and a black and red blade sprung to life.

The blade was perfectly balanced, like as if it were an extension of his arm. Then the weirdest thing happened.

 _'Hey! Who the hell are you!'_

Luke nearly dropped the blade in shock. Did it just...

 _'I'm askin a question demigod dirt!'_

Luke frowned at the blade. "You little-"

Perseus groaned, having gotten back a little strength. "Not now Nothos! He can use you!"

Meanwhile, Thalia charged the second skeleton. Zoe and Bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth.

There was a crashing sound in the forest to their left, like a bulldozer. The skeletons' reinforcements were arriving. Luke got to his feet and ducked a police baton. The skeleton he'd cut in half was already fully re-formed, coming after him.

There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca, and Luke thought she was a goner, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

With renewed vigour, Luke and Bianca took charge, quickly slashing up all the skeletons. Soon, there was nothing left but a pile of ashes. Luke wielded Perseus's blade as if it were an extension of him. He didn't know how or why, but somehow his skill with a blade was exponentially increased when he used Nothos.

And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig they had ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.

"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed. Then the pig turned on us.

Thalia raised her spear, but Perseus mumbled sleepily, "Don't kill it.'"

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it."

"It's a gift," Zoe said. "A blessing from the Wild!"

The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. Derek had to push Luke so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express.

"Yeah, I feel blessed!" Luke said. "Scatter!"

We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.

"Of course," Zoe said. "It's wild!"

"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.

It seemed a fair question to Luke, but the pig was offended and charged her. She was faster than he'd realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.

Derek racked his brain, trying to remember the myth of the boar. He was pretty sure Hercules had fought this thing once, but he couldn't remember how he'd beaten it. He had a vague memory of the boar plowing down several Greek cities before Hercules managed to subdue it. He just hoped Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.

"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. But Thalia and Luke won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on them, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged them.

They only managed to keep ahead of it because they ran uphill, and they could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them.

On the other side of the hill, Luke found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.

"This way.'" He grabbed Thalia's arm and ran along the rails while the boar roared behind, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were not made for this, thank the gods.

Ahead of us, Luke saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. He had a crazy idea.

"Follow me!"

Thalia slowed down—He didn't have time to ask why—but he pulled her along and she reluctantly followed. Behind, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased them.

Thalia and Luke ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

"No!" Thalia screamed.

She'd turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.

The boar was right behind.

"Come on!" Luke said. "It'll hold our weight, probably. Just close your eyes Thals. Relax. It'll be okay."

"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear.

The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.

"Now!" He yelled at Thalia.

She looked down and swallowed. He could have sworn she was turning green.

The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight toward them. Plan B. He tackled Thalia and sent them both sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. They slid on Aegis like a snow-board, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!

Thalia and Luke skidded to a stop. They were both breathing hard. Luke was cut up and bleeding. Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to them, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All he could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.

Thalia was about to knock Luke into the snow when, above us, Derek's voice called, "Helloooooo?"

"Down here!" Luke shouted.

A few minutes later, Zoe, Derek, Bianca, and Perseus joined them. They stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

Zoe said. "We must use it."

"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with Snow White in a pine forest. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

Zoe looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"Fun," Luke said. "Like… pig cowboys."

Perseus walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. he held his arms forward and an apple formed. He tossed it in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."

She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of us.

Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.

"What is this wild blessing anyway?" Derek asked.

Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong… I never thought I would sense that presence again."

"What presence?"

She stared at him like he was an idiot. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."

They rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as their back ends could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was.

Luke had no idea how many miles were covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until they were galloping (do boars gallop?) across the desert.

Perseus's strength had considerably returned. By the next day he would be as good as ever. He found it easier and easier to keep the apple floating. Which was the opposite of what should have happened. But anyway, golden ichor slowly started to replace the red blood. Once in a while, his wounds would reopen and the red blood will spill out until it became golden.

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Zoe said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. They slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then they waddled away as best as they could with their saddle sores.

After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.

"It likes the mountains better," Derek guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."

Ahead of them was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoe Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills… but then they noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Whoa," Luke said.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Zoe. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

They decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of them wanted to go Dumpster-diving in the dark.

Zoe and Bianca produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. The packs were tiny, but were enchanted to hold so much stuff. Their bows and quivers were also magic. When the Hunters needed them, they just appeared slung over their backs. And when they didn't, they were gone.

The night got chilly fast, so Derek and Luke collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon they were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

"The stars are out," Zoe said.

She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing," Zoe said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

"You talk like you're not human," Derek said.

Perseus snorted. "Far from it."

"What does that mean?" Zoe demanded.

Perseus raised his arms in mock surrender. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm just stating facts."

Then he cleared his throat, getting everybody's attention. "Well...by tomorrow we can get going. Theoretically, I should gain my immortality back at around noon tomorrow. Then I will flash us to the Garden of the Hesperides."

The whole group looked at him oddly. He sighed. "Haven't you guys figured it out? We're going to Mt. Orthrys. The base of the Titans.


	10. Cruel, Manipulative Bastards

_Previously on The Devil,_

 _Then he cleared his throat, getting everybody's attention. "Well...by tomorrow we can get going. Theoretically, I should gain my immortality back at around noon tomorrow. Then I will flash us to the Garden of the Hesperides."_

 _The whole group looked at him oddly. He sighed. "Haven't you guys figured it out? We're going to Mt. Orthrys. The base of the Titans._

* * *

Before anyone could say anything, they were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. Derek was half hoping it was Apollo, come to give them a ride again, but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and besides, it was nighttime. They grabbed their sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of them.

The back door of the limo opened right next to Luke. Before he could step away, the point of a sword touched his throat.

He heard the sound of Zoe and Bianca drawing their bows. As the owner of the sword got out of the car, he moved back very slowly. He had to, because he was pushing the point under his chin.

He smiled cruelly. "Not so fast now, are you, punk?"

He was a big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white muscle shirt, and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but Luke knew what was behind those glasses—hollow sockets filled with flames.

"Ares," He growled.

The war god glanced at his friends. "At ease, people."

He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground. He frowned when Perseus's weapon stayed.

"Pick on someone your own size Ares."

Ares, for the first time, noticed Perseus. He looked genuinely scared. He really didn't want to pick a fight with Perseus. "T-This is a friendly meeting."

Perseus didn't look convinced. His fists burst into flames. Ares gulped. He glared at Luke.

"Of course I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."

"What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."

He lowered his sword and pushed Luke away.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "You're not hanging out with very good company."

"What's your business, Ares?" she said. "Who's in the car?"

Ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chin toward Zoe and Bianca. "Why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take Luke a few minutes."

"We will not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoe said.

Perseus had a grand idea. He whispered it into Thalia's ears, who immediately objected. "No Perseus. We won't steal his car."

"Come on." He whined. "It'll be funny."

Thalia stared at him and shook her head.

"Besides," Derek managed, "the taco place is closed."

Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, barnacle face?"

"Go on," Luke told his friends. "I'll handle this."

He tried to sound more confident than he felt. Ares wasn't fooled.

"You heard the boy," Ares said. "He's big and strong. He's got things under control."

His friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Ares regarded him with loathing, then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.

"Get inside, punk," he said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

When Luke saw her, his jaw dropped.

He forgot his name. He forgot where he was. He forgot how to speak in complete sentences. Okay, that was an exaggeration. Merediana was more beautiful than this lady. But still...

She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful he'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon.

Thinking back on it, he couldn't tell who she looked like.

Or even what color her hair or her eyes were. Pick the most beautiful actress you can think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair color, eye color, whatever. The goddess had that.

When she smiled at him, just for a moment she looked a little like Thalia. Then like this television actress he used to have a crush on in seventh grade. Then… well, you get the idea.

"Ah, there you are, Luke," the goddess said. "I am Aphrodite."

He slipped into the seat across from her and said something like, "Um uh gah."

She smiled. "Aren't you sweet. Hold this, please."

She handed him a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had him hold it up for her. She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though he couldn't see anything wrong with it.

"Do you know why you're here?" she asked.

He wanted to respond. Why couldn't he form a complete sentence? She was only a lady. A seriously beautiful lady. With eyes like pools of spring water… Whoa.

Luke pinched his own arm, hard.

"I… I don't know," he managed.

"Oh, dear," Aphrodite said. "Still in denial?"

Outside the car, he could hear Ares chuckling. He had a feeling he could hear every word they said. The idea of him being out there made him angry, and that helped clear his mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Luke said.

"Well then, why are you on this quest?"

"Artemis has been captured!"

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh, Artemis. Please. Talk about a hopeless case. I mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Bo-ring!"

"But she was chasing a monster," He protested. "A really, really bad monster. We have to find it!"

Aphrodite made him hold the mirror a little higher. She seemed to have found a microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed at her mascara. "Always some monster. But my dear Luke, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in you."

My heart pounded. He didn't want to answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of his mouth. "Thalia. I need to keep an eye on her."

Aphrodite beamed. "Exactly!"

"I've been having these dreams."

"Ah, you even dream about her! That's so cute!"

"No! I mean… that's not what I meant."

She made a tsk-tsk sound. "Luke, I'm on your side. I'm the reason you're here, after all."

I stared at her. "What?"

"The poisoned T-shirt the Stoll brothers gave Phoebe," she said. "Did you think that was an accident? Sending Hermes's shoes to find you? Helping you sneak out of the camp?"

"You did that?"

"Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters . are! A quest for some monster, blah blah blah. Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love—"

"Wait a second, I never said—"

"Oh, my dear. You don't need to say it. You do know Thalia was close to joining the Hunters, don't you?"

Luke blushed. "I wasn't sure—"

"She was about to throw her life away! And you, my dear, you can save her from that. It's so romantic!"

"Uh…"

"Oh, put the mirror down," Aphrodite ordered. "I look fine."

He hadn't realized he was still holding it, but as soon as he put it down, he noticed his arms were sore.

"Now listen, Luke," Aphrodite said. "The Hunters are your enemies. Forget them and Artemis and the monster. That's not important. You just concentrate on saving Thalia."

"From what? She's right there!"

Aphrodite looked horrified. "From what? To save her from the hunters of course! They will make her stray from her destiny!"

"And what destiny is that?"

"To be with you of course! But it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story."

"Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with tragic!"

"Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?"

"Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of people killed?"

"Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."

"But… I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean."

She smiled sympathetically. She really was beautiful. And not just because she had a pretty face or anything. She believed in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy when she talked about it.

"Not knowing is half the fun," Aphrodite said. "Exquisitely painful, isn't it? Not being sure who you love and who loves you? Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry."

"No, no," Luke said. "Don't do that."

"And don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."

"That's really okay," Luke told her. "Don't go to any trouble."

"You're so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "Now, you'd better go. And do be careful in my husband's territory, Luke. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."

"What?" He asked. "You mean Hephaestus?"

But the car door opened and Ares grabbed his shoulder, pulling him out of the car and back into the desert night.

Luke's audience with the goddess of love was over.

"You're lucky, punk." Ares pushed him away from the limo. "Be grateful."

"For what?"

"That we're being so nice. If it was up to me—"

"So why haven't you killed me?" He shot back. It was a stupid thing to say to the god of war, but being around him always made me feel angry and reckless.

"I'd love to kill you, seriously," he said. "But see, I got a situation. Aphrodite thinks you're some kinda soap-opera star or something. I kill you, that makes me look bad with her. But don't worry. I haven't forgotten my promise. Some day soon, kid—real soon—you're going to raise your sword to fight, and you're going to remember the wrath of Ares."

"Oh...and one day, when you're about to fade, you better remember the wrath of the devil. I will drag your wretched essence from the void and keep you in Hell. We'll see how tough you sound then, god of war." He said 'god of war' so mockingly that it made the hairs on Ares's body bristle.

Ares looked up to see Perseus standing there, arms crossed over his chest. He nervously took a step back. "N-Now now. You can't do that. You won't be allowed."

"Oh I can't? Poor Ares. What a pitiful god of war. So scared of everything. Tell me Ares...if you're the god of war, why do you lose every battle? Achilles, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Bellerophon, Athena, Artemis, Poseidon,...Me."

Ares growled, his hand going to the hilt of his sword. Perseus noticed that. "Don't do something you'll regret." He stepped forward and glared downwards into Ares's eyes so hard that the sunglasses which Ares wore melted off.

"Remember who I am Ares. It would be wise for you and your whore to fuck off...before I decide to drag you where you both belong."

Ares gulped. Perseus snapped his fingers. The world did a three sixty(at least, to the demigods it was like that). When they stood up again, the limousine was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of Gila Claw was gone. The group was standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.

"What did she want with you?" Bianca asked, once he'd told them about Aphrodite.

"Oh, uh, not sure," He lied. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Luke. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"For once I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."

"So," Derek said, anxious to change the subject, "how do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoe said. "That is west."

"How can you tell?" Derek asked

In the light of the full moon, he was surprised how well he could see her roll her eyes at him. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must be west."

She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.

"Oh, yeah," He said. "The bear thing."

Zoe looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real." He exclaimed

"Guys," Luke broke in. "Look!"

They had reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff… some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Why did you guys start calling me 'Percy'"

Thalia stared at him. "Really? Firstly, Perseus is too long, and annoying to use all the time. Also, it's a rather cute name". She blushed while saying the last part.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Let us get through this first. Thou can flirt later."

"Junk?" Derek picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"

"Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Percy's sword!"

Zoe's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."

"But—"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."

Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.

"I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.

"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" Luke joked.

She gave me a hard look. "Zoe is right, Luke. Things get thrown away here for a reason. Now come on, let's get across the yard."

"That's the second time you've agreed with Zoe," Luke muttered, but Thalia ignored him.

* * *

"I told the witch doctor, I was in love, with you! And then the witch doctor, he told me, what to do! He said Oo ee oo ah ah! Ting tang walla walla bing bang! Oo ee oo ah ah! Ting tang walla walla bing bang!"

Thalia's eye twitched. Zoe growled menacingly.

"Oo ee oo ah ah! Ting tang walla walla bing bang!"

"Will you SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Percy looked at Thalia innocently. "What?"

Lightning danced in her hair. She stormed up to him and roughly poked her finger in his chest. "For FIVE GODDAMN HOURS YOU HAVE BEEN SINGING THAT BLOODY SONG!" She yelled.

"Hey! I'll have you know it's a good song!"

The whole group looked at him and said "NO!" in unison.

"It's not my fault we're walking here. I voted we beat up the god of douches and steal his car. You guys chickened out like a bunch of pussies."

The questers rolled their eyes at him. Ever since he had become mortal, he had been acting more like one. He was already acting like a child at first. But when he became mortal, well...it enhanced his childish behaviour. Deep down they knew he was just trying to lighten the mood but still.

They started picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, they would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.

Luke sighed and muttered incoherent curses as he trudged up and down garbage hills. I'd like to say they left the stuff alone, but there was too much cool junk not to check out some of it. Derek found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre that was so sweet he had to pick it up. Luke found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when he picked them up, trying to flap their wings.

Finally, they saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of them, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between them and the road…

"What is that?" Bianca gasped.

Ahead of them was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

Bianca frowned. "They look like—"

"Toes," Percy said.

Bianca nodded. "Really, really large toes."

Zoe and Thalia exchanged nervous looks.

"Let's go around," Luke said. "Far around."

"But the road is right over there," Derek protested. "Quicker to climb over."

Ping.

Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe drew her bow, but then realised realized it was only Percy. He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded.

Percy cringed. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?"

"Come on." Thalia looked at Luke. "Around."

He didn't argue. The toes were starting to freak him out, too. Who sculpts ten-foot-tall metal toes and sticks them in a junkyard?

After several minutes of walking, they finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.

"We made it out," Zoe said. "Thank the gods."

But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. At that moment, they heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.

They whirled around. Behind them, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The ten toes tilted over, and Luke realized why they looked like toes. They were toes. The thing that rose up from the metal was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armor. He was impossibly tall—a skyscraper with legs and arms. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. He looked down at them, and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.

"Talos!" Zoe gasped.

"Who—who's Talos?" Derek stuttered.

"One of Hephaestus's creations," Thalia said. "But that can't be the original. It's too small. A prototype, maybe. A defective model.

The metal giant didn't like the word defective.

He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. It looked rusty and dull, but I didn't figure that mattered. Getting hit with that thing would be like getting hit with a battleship.

"Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?"

She stared accusingly at Luke.

"Hey! That's racist!"

Bianca didn't say anything. Percy could have sworn she looked guilty, but he didn't have much time to think about it, because the giant defective Talos took one step toward them, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.

"Run!" Derek yelped.

Great advice, except that it was hopeless. At a leisurely stroll, this thing could outdistance them easily.

They split up, the way they'd done with the Nemean Lion. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path.

Thalia had its attention for the moment. She'd learned that the giant was big but slow. If you could stay close to it and not get smashed, you could run around it and stay alive. At least, it was working so far.

Zoe's arrows whistled toward the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the metal. Grover brayed like a baby goat and went climbing up a mountain of metal.

Percy stood there, as if waiting for something to happen. He felt the last drop of mortal blood exit his body and get replaced with ichor. He smiled wickedly. His eyes turned blood red, sclera and all, like that of a demon's.

Bianca and Zoe were shooting arrows at the giant robot. Suddenly there was a large BOOM!

The creature stumbled back a couple steps nearly tipped over, but it managed to get itself balanced. When the robot came closer, Luke could see a large hole where the stomach should have been. He looked at Percy, who was now levitating about forty feet in the air, nearly at the abdomen level of the giant creature.

He pointed his finger towards the robot and let loose a giant blast of pure energy that incinerated the sword arm, blasting it clean from the body of the robot.

The creature roared and tried to grab him out of the air with the other arm. But he was too quick. In an instant he was at the back of the robot. He brought his arms to the side, as if he were holding a giant hammer. A huge hammer suddenly formed to the right and mimicked his movements. He swing his arms to the left with full power.

The result was devastating. The side of the creature had been flattened on impact, sending the robot flailing through the air and landing a good twenty feet from where it stood.

He looked down at the awed faces of the questers. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" He yelled at them.

They turned and bolted across the highway. He was so busy watching them that he didn't see a giant palm smash into him, sending him crashing to the ground, right next to Zoe.

He slowly stood. "Ahh! I'm gonna feel that one!" He winced.

The questers stopped running. Derek noticed a small trapdoor under the robot's leg. He got a crazy idea. He bolted towards the machine before anyone could stop him.

Percy noticed him running. He chased him, but before he could get near him, a huge metal foot landed upon him, crushing him into the asphalt.

"NOOOO!" Thalia cried. Zoe and Luke had to hold her back.

Though her fears were for naught when the giant had raised his foot upward and walked past him. She could see the crater that had been formed when Percy was stepped into the ground. He stood up shakily.

Before it could reach Thalia, Luke or Zoe, a blast of energy severed Prototype-Talos's left shin, sending the robot crashing into the ground. It suddenly exploded into pieces as it got short-circuited. Bright arcs of electricity flared every now and then.

Percy flew over it and landed next to Thalia. She saw that his wings were unfolded. She asked him what happened and checked him for injuries, but he just waved her off, saying that he was fine.

Suddenly Luke realised something. "Guys! Where's Derek?"

The group looked around frantically but they found no sight of him. Thalia looked at Percy. "Percy! Where did he go?"

He looked at the now dead automaton sadly. "He went inside. He...He short-circuited it."

The questers ran to the body of the giant. When they reached the wreckage they searched frantically, yelling Derek's name. They crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. They searched until the sun started to rise, but no luck.

Thalia yelled in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face.

"We can keep searching," Luke said. "It's light now. We'll find him."

"No we won't," Percy said miserably. "It happened just as it was supposed to."

"What are you talking about?" Luke demanded.

He looked up at him with big watery eyes. "The prophecy. One shall he lost in the land without rain."

Here they were in the desert. And Derek LeBeau was gone.

Percy whipped out a cigarette and a lighter. He put the cigarette in his mouth and tried to light it. He tried a couple times but the flames just wouldn't stay long enough for the end of the cigarette to burn.

"AAARGH!" He flung the lighter down on the ground. He looked at the sky. The weather was so calm, almost like an insult.

"You...you cruel, manipulative bastards!" Percy yelled as he glared at the sky. The other questers looked at him worriedly, like as if he was going to be incinerated any moment. He was insulting the Fates themselves. Zoe gasped. Flames coated Percy's hands as he yelled at The Fates.

"Was this all part of your plans? It's all just a game to you, isn't it? Eh?...Well, I know punishment, and he did not deserve that. That boy did NOT deserve to die. He followed your STUPID rules and it STILL WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH!...So what does it take to please you?... Break your rules and you fall! Follow them and you still lose?! Doesn't matter whether you're a sinner! Doesn't matter whether you're a saint! Nobody can win, so what's the point? What's the bloody point?" His voice cracked at the end.

* * *

The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well, because the road dead-ended.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

Luke scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below.

"There's a path," Zoe said. "We could get to the river."

Luke tried to see what she was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," He said.

"So?" she asked.

"We aren't goats."

"We can make it," Zoe said. "I think."

Luke thought about that. He'd done cliffs before, but he didn't like them. Then he looked over at Thalia and saw how pale she'd gotten. Her problem with heights… she'd never be able to do it.

"No," He said. "I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."

Zoe said, "But—"

"Come on," Luke said. "A walk won't hurt us."

He glanced at Thalia. Her eyes said a quick Thank you.

They followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but he left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note saying IOU two canoes.

"We need to go upstream," Percy said. It was the first time Luke had heard him speak since the junkyard. Since his outburst in the junkyard, he had become drawn to himself. He didn't even look at the other members. He'd never think that an immortal would actually feel sad when a mortal died. Especially when he hardly knew said mortal.

"Can you control water?" Luke asked. They put the canoes in the water.

Thalia pulled him aside as they were getting the oars. "Thanks for back there."

"Don't mention it."

Thalia then called Percy "Can you..." She nodded to the rapids. "You know."

"I could always talk to the naiads."

"Would you take Zoe?" she asked. "I think, ah, maybe you can talk to her."

"She's not going to like that." He said in a monotone.

"Please? I don't know if I can stand being in the same boat with her. She's… she's starting to worry me."

It was about the last thing Percy wanted to do, but he nodded.

Thalia's shoulders relaxed. "I owe you one."

"Three."

"One and a half," Thalia said, cracking a smile.

* * *

They had used the canoes to reach a place called Hoover Dam. They purposely waited until it would be ten minutes to sunset. After taking a couple pictures, courtesy of Percy, they all stood in a circle, ready to be teleported to the Garden of the Hesperides.

"Ready everyone?" Percy asked.

They nodded their heads. He looked to the sky. Arcs of lightning crashed upon them and they were engulfed in a bright light. When they opened their eyes, they were covered in fog.

When the fog cleared, they were on the side of a the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed close, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of them. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like how it was all those years ago when Luke had tried to steal an apple.

If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place they'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and not those yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. Real golden apples. It cannot be described why they were so appealing, but as soon as Luke smelled their fragrance, he knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted.

"The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

Luke wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled around the tree. His hand went to his face, remembering the scar it had given him.

The dragon looked very scary to them. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had more heads than they could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.

Then the shadows in front of them began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. Luke reached for Backbiter, but Zoe stopped his hand.

Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoe. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. It was strange, but he'd never realized how beautiful Zoe was until I saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoe—gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.

"Sisters," Zoe said.

"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."

"You've got it wrong." Percy stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Nobody is going to die. Move aside, or else I'll destroy you and your garden."

The girls studied him. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.

"Perseus," one of them said, showing tiny amounts of fear, but Luke could see it clear as day. He realised that there were many beings who were scared of Percy. He realised with a shudder that while he may be a good friend to him and Thalia and maybe Zoe and Bianca too, it would be very very deadly to get on his wrong side. He remembered how nervous Ares had gotten when he saw Percy.

He remembered the way Mr. D would shut his trap when he was around. He remembered how absolutely hopeless they had been when Merediana had attacked. He was strong enough to resist her charms. Thinking back on it, Luke realised that if Merediana hadn't appeared, he would have drooled in front of Aphrodite instead. It was like a pre-test.

The questers watched as Percy grew in size, the same size as the gods would be in the throne room. His clothes shifted into sleek black armour with a silky black flowing cape. His voice boomed, much like Kronos's, but not as evil.

 **"It's Lord Perseus to you, Hesperides."**

The commotion had woken up the dragon. The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered.

The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. But Perseus gave it a withering look that made the dragon recoil backwards. It dropped all of it's heads at his feet, bowing in submission.

He shrunk back. "Let's go. Ladon won't be a problem."

They ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind. The music didn't sound so beautiful now—more like the sound track for a funeral.

At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.

"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe. 


	11. A Friend Says Goodbye

_Previously on The Devil,_

 _They ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind. The music didn't sound so beautiful now—more like the sound track for a funeral._

 _At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted._

 _"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe._

* * *

"Yes," Zoe said. "It was not here before. This is bad."

"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoe said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was—" She winced and held her side.

"You're hurt," Luke said. "Let me see."

"No! It is nothing. I was saying… in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces."

"But… how is it here?" He asked.

Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good."

"Why?"

"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoe said. "Where he holds—" She froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."

We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a sixteen-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. This is what Thalia had seen in her dream. It hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the world.

"My lady!" Zoe rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."

Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. Thalia had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.

Zoe was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains.

A booming voice spoke behind: _"Ah, how touching."_

The group turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his left side were Ethan and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Lou Ellen stood at Ethan's side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Ethan was holding the point of his sword to her throat.

Thalia met Lou's eyes, trying to ask her a thousand questions. There was just one message she was sending her, though: RUN.

"Ethan," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."

Ethan's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C when Luke saw him. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."

Perseus stepped forward. "Let them go, Atlas. Let them go, and I promise your punishment will not be very harsh. Only a thousand lashes a day."

Perseus grew in height until he was taller than both the titans. His clothes were once again replaced with armour. He unsheathed his sword, which had also magically grown. Though Luke still didn't know how. When Percy spoke again, it was nearly identical to Kronos's voice.

 **"Or else I will make you wish your mother never spread her legs open that night."**

Even the general was unnerved, but then he chuckled. _"And you, Zoe. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."_

"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."

"You're not going to hurt Zoe" Luke said. "I won't let you."

The General sneered. _"You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter." I frowned. "A family matter?"_

"Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father..."

"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. _"Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."_

Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.

 _"Hoo-hoo,"_ Atlas chuckled. _"You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility. Also...I may more than a use for your lady...I'll admit this form suits her very well. Maybe she can be shared. Mondays and Tuesdays Lord Kronos can have her. I'll call dibs on Wednesdays. The others can draw lots."_

Zoe snarled, but didn't attack. Oh how she really wanted to wipe that smug smile from her father's face.

Thalia looked at Lou. She was desperately trying to tell her something. She motioned her head toward Ethan. But all she could do was stare at her. She hadn't noticed before, but something about her had changed. Her black hair was now streaked with gray.

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered. "The weight should've killed her."

Percy took a step forward. Before Atlas could do anything, a woman appeared. Luke forgot how to even breathe. She was most definitely better than Aphrodite. And that was without the make-up. Unlike last time, she now was wearing battle armour, so he was able to tear his eyes away from her. He remembered Percy's warning. 'Do not even glance at her.'

"Aww. How is my little devil. Do you want me to kiss your boo-boo?"

Percy stared at her in the eye. This time her charms had absolutely no effect on him. He was far too angry for that. Before Merediana could continue talking, a blast of energy smashed into her, throwing her off the mountain. All they saw was a beautiful woman in battle armour, flailing in the air as she fell.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" She screamed as she plunged into the water below. Percy sent a mental message to Poseidon to keep her prisoner in the water.

He turned to Atlas. **"So...what else you got?"**

Atlas snarled. _"Soon you will be overwhelmed, demigods."_

He pointed toward the ocean, and their hearts fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things they couldn't even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more than they'd ever seen in one place.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Ethan said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. You all will burn."

There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. Thalia met Lou's eyes again. She nodded.

Thalia looked at Luke and Zoe, and she decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.

"Now," She said.

Together, they charged.

Thalia went straight for Ethan. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But despite his sickly appearance, Ethan was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

As for Luke, he did the stupidest thing in his life, which is saying a lot. He attacked the Titan Lord Atlas.

He laughed as Luke approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted into full Greek battle armor. _"Go on, then!"_

"Luke!" Zoe said. "Beware!"

Luke knew what she was warning him about. Chiron had told me long ago: Immortals are constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve. Once he attacked, however, Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his might.

Luke swung Backbiter, and Atlas knocked him aside with the shaft of his javelin. He flew through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.

The javelins point slashed toward him like a scythe. He raised Backbiter, planning to cut off his weapon at the shaft, but his arm felt like lead. The sword suddenly weighed a ton.

And he remembered Ares's warning, spoken on the beach in Los Angeles so long ago: When you need it most, your sword will fail you. He noticed the same thing was happening to Thalia. Her spear was failing and falling.

Not now! Luke pleaded. But it was no good. He tried to dodge, but the javelin caught him in the chest and sent him flying like a rag doll. He slammed into the ground, his head spinning. He looked up and found he was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.

"Run, boy," she told him. "You must run!"

Atlas was taking his time coming toward him. His sword was gone. It had skittered away over the edge of the cliff. He'd be dead by then. Ethan and Thalia were fighting like demons, lightning crackling around them. Lou was on the ground, desperately struggling to free her hands.

 _"Die, little hero,"_ Atlas said.

He raised his javelin to impale him.

"No!" Zoe yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armpit chink in Atlas's armor.

 _"ARGH!"_ He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.

 **"ENOUGH!"**

A booming voice interrupted the entire fight. The nearby monsters were blasted right off the mountain by the sheer force. Ethan lost his balance and was soon disarmed by Thalia, who held her spear at his throat.

Perseus stood there, his cape was gone, but his pitch black wings were out. He held twin black swords coated in hellfire. His entire body was vibrating so much it almost blurred.

Atlas roared and charged him. But before he could reach him, Perseus was already behind him. "Too slow!".

He gave Atlas a nasty cut on the back of his knees. Luke's eyes widened. Just how fast was Percy going. It's almost as if he was going at light speed. He didn't even see his after-image.

But Atlas wasn't the titan of strength for nothing. He swing the javelin behind him, catching Perseus by surprise. He ducked before the javelin could hit him. But even though he missed, Atlas improvised by finishing the swing and resting the javelin on his shoulders being his head, and fired a beam of energy.

Having no time to escape, Perseus blocked the attack with his twin swords. He grunted and put effort as the beam pushed him back. The ground beneath him had craters from where he had stood.

Percy spun and slashed turning in circles as he did so, not allowing Atlas to counter attack and was forced on the defensive. Suddenly, Atlas kicked his knee and then spun the javelin around, catching him in the ribs with the end of the shaft, making Percy stumble.

Atlas smirked at his perceived victory. But before he could celebrate, he felt a sharp pin as his jaw was dislocated: a powerful uppercut sent him reeling to the ground. The sudden attack had left him unprepared. He groaned as he stood clutching his jaw in pain. He shouted in pain as he painfully shifted it back.

With a yell he charged Perseus, javelin against twin swords. He ducked, stabbed and counterattacked. He soon found an opening and stabbed at Percy's face...only to meet thin air. He looked down to see a human sized Perseus. The small Perseus launched himself on Atlas's shoulders and then dug his swords into them. Suddenly, he grew large again, with the swords embedded in Atlas's shoulders. The swords too grew large, painfully severing muscle and flesh as his left shoulder was torn apart.

Golden ichor burst from his wound like a hot geyser. He yelled in pain and haphazardly swung his javelin with the other hand. Percy caught it easily and snapped the javelin in half. But since it was a godly weapon, the javelin exploded into a golden shower.

 **"You know Atlas...the mortals imagine my power to be so great that I can go around the world before you even blink. Do you know what that means?"**

 _"Argh! I don't care what those pesky mortals think! You are still a domain-less god. I can easily crush you!"_

 **"That's where your wrong Atlas. I do have a domain. Hell. And now I will bring it right to you!"**

Luke watched in sick fascination as Atlas was tossed around like a rag-doll. At one point, he saw Percy pick Atlas by the foot and then raise him into the air and smash him to the ground repeatedly. Just like what Hulk did to Loki in the Avengers movie...

Atlas was bleeding golden ichor everywhere. His bones were cracked and his javelin was splintered into a thousand pieces. Perseus grabbed his neck and hoisted him in the air. **"So...what shall I do with you now? Put you under the sky? Or give a a whole new level of pain?"**

Atlas begged for mercy. _"Please Perseus. Don't do this. I'm beggi-"_

Percy flung him to the ground in front of Zoe. **"DON'T BEG! TRY TO SAVE SOME MEAGRE AMOUNT OF YOUR DIGNITY AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!"**

The others had arrived. Atlas growled. _"If I can't kill you, then I'll kill her!"_

Several things happened at once. Atlas rolled painfully and sprung at Zoe. At the same time, Percy moved to intercept him. Luke dived to cover her.

But they weren't fast enough. Before they could reach her, Atlas grabbed her with his remaining hand and smashed her into the ground, breaking nearly all her bones. He then threw her as hard as he could into the ruins of Orthrys. Her lower back got punctured by a spike and she was completely immobilised. Her spinal column ruptured and blood rushed to her mouth.

For a minute Percy didn't do anything. Then **"AAAARRGHH!"**

In a fit of rage, Perseus kicked Atlas so hard that he flew straight towards Artemis. Artemis got the hint. She saw him coming down on top of her and realized what would happen. She loosened her grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into her she didn't try to hold on. She let herself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all she was worth.

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.

 _"Noooooo!"_ He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. _"Not again!"_

Atlas was trapped under his old burden. He struggled to hold it with only one hand and his back. His bones being broken didn't help.

Artemis tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. Her body felt like it was burning up.

Thalia backed Ethan to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had cuts on her body. Ethan had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Ethan's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Well?" Ethan asked. He tried to hide it, but Luke could hear fear in his voice.

Thalia trembled with fury.

Behind her, Lou came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"

"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"

In his daze, Luke realized that Artemis and Perseus weren't there. They had run off toward the black rocks where Zoe had fallen.

"We'll bring Ethan back," Lou pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful."

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Ethan sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"

Thalia hesitated, and Ethan made a desperate grab for her spear.

"No!" Lou shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Ethan away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.

"Ethan!" Lou screamed.

They rushed to the cliff's edge. Below them, the army from the Princess Andromeda had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Ethan's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much Luke hated him, he couldn't stand to see it. He wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

Lou was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. Luke pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over their heads. They ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as they passed.

"Artemis! Percy!" Luke yelled.

The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still…

Percy was kneeling next to her, desperately shining light on her through his palm. He screamed in rage when nothing worked.

"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them."

"Nectar and ambrosia," Luke said. "Come on! We have to get her some."

No one moved. Grief hung in air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. They might've met their doom right there, but then they heard a strange buzzing noise.

They turned to see Percy levitating in the air. He had no weapons on him. But his hands were by his sides, holding what could only be described as a glowing black balls of energy. He flung them into the army, and incinerated dozens of monsters at once. Suddenly, there was a voice from the monster army.

"FALL BACK!"

"RETREAT!"

Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer they had ever seen. It landed right next to them.

"Get in," Artemis said.

Thalia helped Bianca get Lou on board. Then Luke helped Artemis with Zoe. Perseus wrapped Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.

"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," Luke murmured, still dazed with pain.

Artemis took time to look back at him. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?"

Behind them, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.

They stopped the chariot a little away from the mountain. The group got down. Luke and Bianca were just talking about something when "Luke, Bianca," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoe's side, binding the huntress's wounds.

They ran over to help, but there wasn't much they could do. It was dark, but they could see that Zoe didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.

"Can't you heal her with magic?" Luke asked Artemis. "I mean… you're a goddess."

Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Luke. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."

"Yes...the fates. The fucking FATES!" Perseus yelled.

Artemis looked at Percy a little worriedly. But he continued. "They think it's just a game. People are merely chess pieces to them isn't it? First Derek. Now Zoe. Who NEXT?" He yelled at the sky.

Artemis put a hand on Percy's shoulder. He calmed down and knelt before Zoe.

Artemis tried to set her hand on Zoe's side, but Zoe gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.

"Have I… served thee well?" Zoe whispered.

"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."

Zoe's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."

It was her father's final blow. Zoe had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save the others, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.

She saw Thalia, and took her hand.

"I am sorry we argued," Zoe said. "We could have been sisters."

"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about about heroes, men—everything."

"Perhaps not all men," Zoe murmured. She smiled weakly at Perseus and Luke. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"

He couldn't speak, but he brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. Derek had given it to him just before he...died. She grasped it contentedly. "Perseus...Luke...and e-even D-Derek...You are nothing like… like Heracles. I will be honoured if you carry this sword."

A shudder ran through her body.

"Zoe—" Perseus said.

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.

Thalia lowered her head. Lou gulped down a sob. They watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared.

Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.

For a moment they didn't see anything different. Then Thalia gasped. Looking up in the sky, they saw that the stars were brighter now. They made a pattern they had never noticed before—a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure—a girl with a bow, running across the sky.

"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."

It wasn't easy saying good-byes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. This made the questers nervous, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, we would disintegrate by looking at her.

"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but Perseus can."

The goddess set her hand on Lou's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."

Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. Luke wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze softened with sympathy. Then she turned to Perseus.

"You did well," she said. "For a man."

"Did well? I did awesome!"

Artemis rolled her eyes as she mounted her chariot, which began to glow. They averted their eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.

Perseus looked around. "Okay folks. We'll take a break for an hour, then I'll teleport us."

He waved his hand and some food appeared. It wasn't much. But they still ate. After everything was done, they stood up, stomachs half-content.

"All right. Stand in a circle and hold hands. Do NOT let go under any circumstances. And don't move. Okay?"

They nodded their heads. Luke grabbed Thalia's hand and Percy's hand. Percy grabbed Bianca's hand and Bianca held Lou's hand. Lou held Thalia's hand completing the circle.

A wave of water from the ocean engulfed them. The next thing they knew, they were just at the entrance of Olympus.


	12. Quid Pro Ho

**Hello People!**

 **It's been quite a while. So. Annabeth is currently leading the poll by a bloody landslide.**

 **Oh btw, these votes were posted as reviews, since I thought it was to be done like that. I didn't know you could ACTUALLY open a poll. So, at the end of this chapter, you'll come to know who it is.**

* * *

 _Previously on The Devil,_

 _"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but Perseus can."_

 _The goddess set her hand on Lou's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."_

 _Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. Luke wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze softened with sympathy. Then she turned to Perseus._

 _"You did well," she said. "For a man."_

 _"Did well? I did awesome!"_

 _Artemis rolled her eyes as she mounted her chariot, which began to glow. They averted their eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone._

 _Perseus looked around. "Okay folks. We'll take a break for an hour, then I'll teleport us."_

 _He waved his hand and some food appeared. It wasn't much. But they still ate. After everything was done, they stood up, stomachs half-content._

 _"All right. Stand in a circle and hold hands. Do NOT let go under any circumstances. And don't move. Okay?"_

 _They nodded their heads. Luke grabbed Thalia's hand and Percy's hand. Percy grabbed Bianca's hand and Bianca held Lou's hand. Lou held Thalia's hand completing the circle._

 _A wave of water from the ocean engulfed them. The next thing they knew, they were just at the entrance of Olympus._

* * *

In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. Thalia caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things she couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.

Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

Perseus had teleported to them in front of huge silver gates. Before anyone could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

And then, side by side, they walked into the throne room.

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoe the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turned their eyes on the demigods at once… Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.

Perseus grew in size as he walked right beside Poseidon, where there was some free space. He summoned a gigantic beanbag and promptly plopped on it, earning a glare from Zeus. He glared right back at him, making the King of the Gods turn away from him. Poseidon was sitting with his hands on his head, but wasn't crying, he wouldn't cry in front of everyone. Perseus seemed to be telling something to him.

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!"

That's when Luke noticed Bessie and Grover.

A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. It was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw them, he cried, "You made it!"

He started to run toward him, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission.

"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia.

Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled.

Grover gave Bianca and Thalia big hugs. Then he grasped Luke's arms. "Luke, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Wait! You named that thing Bessie? And when did you get here?"

"Not the point! I was sent on a side quest to find it. Long story short, I found it and brought it here. But now they want to-"

"Heroes," Artemis called.

The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward them, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told them. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among some of the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lord Perseus, apparently has already sealed the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"

She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera.

On Zeus's right, Poseidon. Next to him, Perseus, next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.

Hermes winked at Luke, which brought a smile on his face. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so Luke wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave him a thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at him while he sharpened a knife.

On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at him knowingly and made him blush in spite of himself.

All the Olympians in one place, plus Perseus. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.

"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia. "She's dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got her here—"

Perseus interrupted him. "Have you forgotten what I said Ares? Do not try and harm my...my friends. They aren't traitors, unlike you." The demigods blushed when he called them his friends. In front of the council.

Ares started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"

Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. But do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"

"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."

Poseidon spoke. "They have done well. Better than most. It is foolhardy to punish them."

"Don't even think of touching my daughter." Hades growled.

"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."

Thalia and Bianca both blushed and looked at the floor.

The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two."

"I will not have them punished," Artemis interrupted. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"Don't call me sis! I will reward them."

"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?"

A lot of nodding heads.

"Mooooooo!" Bessie protested.

"Lord Poseidon," Thalia said, "He's just a sea creature. A really nice sea creature. You can't destroy him."

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Thalia, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or—"

"You can't," She insisted. She looked at Zeus. She probably should have been afraid of him, but she stared him right in the eye. "Controlling the prophecies never works dad. Isn't that true? Besides, the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as… as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do. It's wrong!"

Zeus seemed to consider this. he looked at his daughter. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, two more years till you turn eighteen, like the prophecy says.

"You have to trust them," Luke spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them. Plus, Bianca won't turn eighteen. She is a huntress. And Thalia is your daughter. She won't betray you."

Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"

"Luke is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.

A feeling of panic seized Luke. "Thalia," He said under my breath. "Don't."

She frowned at me. "What?"

"Look, I need to tell you something," He continued. The words came stumbling out of him. "I couldn't stand it if… I don't want you to—"

"Luke?" she said. "You look like you're going to be sick."

And that's how he felt. He wanted to say more, but his tongue betrayed him. It wouldn't move because of the fear in his stomach. And then Artemis turned.

"I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept it."

"No," Luke murmured.

"Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Stunned silence filled the room. Luke stared at Thalia, unable to believe what he was hearing. He prayed she wouldn't say yes.

"I will," Thalia said firmly.

Luke's heart cracked into a million pieces. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He glanced at Aphrodite who smiled sympathetically at him. He quickly rubbed his eyes before anyone could see that he was crying.

Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well—"

"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn eighteen in two years. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again."

Luke subconsciously took a step back. A tear fell from his eye.

Before Artemis could make Thalia her lieutenant, a voice interrupted her. "Wait!"

The entire council swivelled their heads to see Perseus standing from his beanbag chair. He walked towards Artemis, growing smaller as he did.

"What are you doing?" Artemis hissed.

He gave her a slight glare. "I know precisely what you are trying to accomplish, niece. Don't even deny it."

He looked at Zeus. "I'll train her myself. There is no need for her to become immortal. She will be ready for the prophecy when it comes."

Zeus glared at Perseus. "NO!"

Perseus raised an eyebrow at him. Zeus corrected himself. "I mean, not without making sure you won't betray us!"

Perseus made a low growl, like as if he would pounce upon Zeus any moment. "You stupid little SHIT! Who do you think kept the titans in their prisons? Mother? It was me!"

A little while later, and after a whole lot of verbal abuses, Zeus and Perseus came to an agreement. Perseus swore on the Styx not to use her against Olympus and he would train her in the finest arts of battle and their powers.

Afterward, Thalia did something that surprised Perseus almost as much as Zeus's approval. She came over to him, smiled, and in front of the whole assembly, she gave him a big hug.

"I'm proud to be your student."

She hugged Luke, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon.

Then Thalia went to stand by Perseus's side.

"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said, a little miffed that she hadn't gotten her lieutenant.

"She is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare her—"

"No." Thalia looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. Lord Poseidon can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him."

"And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus.

"I'm only sixteen," Thalia said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years."

"Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young girl."

Luke rolled his eyes, something which didn't go unnoticed by Athena "It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the girl."

Poseidon stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it."

He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for Thalia and the safety of the Ophiotaurus." The council was extremely surprised. Poseidon vouching for a child of his brother? Now that's a first!

"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession."

"Brother, please," Poseidon sighed.

Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone.

"Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The demigods will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor."

But Zeus was adamant. "NO! I don't care! IT WILL DIE!" He flung the bolt towards the monster, but a black blur sped in front of it, stopping the Master Bolt in it's tracks.

Zeus looked surprised. Perseus held the bolt in his hands. He examined it closely. "After the monumentally dreadful day I've had, you decide to piss me off now? I was clearing up your mess, by the way, so if you don't mind."

An enraged Zeus leaped from his throne onto the floor. The other gods looked at each other nervously. Some stood, but were pulled down by shadows.

They looked at Hades, who shook his head. "I want to see this. It's been a long time since our 'King' got his ass handed."

Zeus looked at his master bolt, which was in Perseus's hands. "Give it back!"

Perseus laughed. He looked at the other gods. "Did you hear that? 'Give it back!'". He did a poor imitation of Zeus. He threw the master bolt at the entrance of the throne room.

"Fetch!"

Zeus was livid. He walked towards Perseus, fists crackling with electricity. "YOU! I knew you would betray us."

"I betrayed no one. It's your fault that traitorous demigods are running about. You made so many bloody laws! Now they're angry. They've joined our father. And that's on your hands brother." Perseus said 'brother' as if it were the worst insult.

Zeus walked in front of him. "You're wrong. You are the evil one. You're the one encouraging humans to commit crimes. It's your fault. It always has been.". He launched a punch at Perseus, but he caught Zeus's fist mid-air, stopping it in it's tracks without much effort.

"I hate to break it to you brother, but this time I'm actually fighting back!". He landed a thunderous punch to Zeus's gut that sent Zeus reeling.

He then tried to right hook his face but Zeus ducked under the punch and gave Perseus a hard uppercut to the jaw. He then punched Perseus in the face. Hard.

"If only you had done what I told you, none of this would have happened." Zeus punched him twice, sending Perseus backward each time. They were near a marble column.

Zeus roughly pushed Perseus into one of the columns, cracking it in the process. Zeus once again punched at him, but quick as lightning, Perseus blocked it. And they both stared at each other for a second.

Perseus suddenly dragged Zeus's head towards the column, banging Zeus's head into it, and then roughly turning him around and pushing him away.

"Oh please Zeus! You're just too proud to admit-" Zeus punched at him, but he deflected the punch and sent his own punch, stumbling the king of the gods.

"that you were a poor ruler! You always were! Maybe it's time for you to rule elsewhere!". Zeus tried punching him in the same fashion again, but Perseus again deflected it before punching him in the face. Hades jumped in his seat in excitement. The other gods rolled their eyes at him.

Zeus stumbled a couple feet before regaining his balance. Perseus glared at him. "I don't know. Maybe somewhere a little warmer!". He sprung forward and slammed into Zeus, knocking them both onto the ground. Poseidon leaned over his throne in anticipation.

Zeus and Perseus groaned, both of them getting up slowly. Zeus glared at him. "Why did you have to do it with her?"

Perseus took in short breaths as he laughed "Now I get what this little tantrum's really about. It's about Hera. You actually do like your wife. Well, I mean, I don't blame you, brother. She is a wild woman in the sack!" Percy said as he leaned back laughing.

The council was surprised. They hadn't known any of this. They looked at Hera, who merely blushed and looked at the floor. "It was a one time thing." She muttered.

Zeus grew even angrier as he punched Perseus in the gut, before lifting him bridal style, only to flip him over and smash him to the ground. Ares was literally sitting at the edge of his seat, watching with glee.

Perseus groaned as he got up slowly. When he was on his knees, Zeus punched him in the face again, sending him to the ground on his stomach. Perseus touched his lip, which had started to bleed a little.

He stood up. "Oh please brother! You're the one who's been using pawns! Aphrodite! All those mortal wives!". He landed a thunderous right hook to Zeus's face. Zeus stumbled a little and almost fell.

Zeus looked at him in surprise. "Aphrodite? I don't know what you're talking about!". He tried to right hook Perseus, but Perseus blocked it with his left hand. He then punched Zeus in the gut, making him double over in pain.

"You always were a lousy liar." He grabbed Zeus's shoulder with his left hand, and with his right hand he pushed his chest with enough force to send Zeus flying across the room and crashing at the foot of his throne.

He walked towards Zeus.

Perseus sneered at him. "You justify it all, don't you? Claim it's all done in the name of protecting Olympus, but it's for your sake, brother. And they call me the prideful one." He pulled Zeus to his feet holding his suit collar and was about to punch him when a voice interrupted them.

"ENOUGH!" Hera yelled. "We are in a winter solstice council! IS THIS HOW YOU BEHAVE?" She screeched.

Both brothers winced. Perseus left Zeus's collar, and they both looked at each other, ashamed of their actions. Zeus walked away to his throne and sat on it. Instantly his injuries healed. Perseus's on the other hand, stayed the same, since he didn't have a throne. it was merely a giant beanbag.

Hera looked at the council. "Now. Since my brother's fight is over, I think we can decide to move with Poseidon's idea to build an aquarium here."

Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?"

To Luke's surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else voted.

"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes… I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

* * *

There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian.

The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and the demigods realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same sound track. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up.

Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm—his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!"

Gods kept coming over to congratulate the demigods. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with Luke, and he was so cheerful. Luke hadn't felt so happy in a long time. Hermes felt...proud. Yes, that's the word. He felt happy that his father was proud of him. He had, at first admittedly wanted to join Kronos. But after Perseus, who risked his life for them, he felt otherwise.

He remembered how Artemis helped them by speaking up for them. He recalled how Poseidon vouched for Thalia on his honour. That wasn't something many gods would do. He recalled how Perseus picked a fight with Zeus just to save the Ophiotaurus.

Apollo told Luke he could drive his sun chariot any time, and if he ever wanted archery lessons—

"Thanks," He told him. "But seriously, I'm not that good at archery. Just mediocre."

"Ah, nonsense," he said. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!"

He made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. He was looking for Thalia. Last he'd seen her, she'd been dancing with some minor godling.

Thalia had just finished dancing. She was about to go find Luke but just then a man's voice behind her said, "You won't let me down, I hope."

She turned and found Poseidon smiling at her.

"Lord Poseidon...hi."

"Hello, Thalia. You've done well."

His praise made her uneasy. It felt good, but she knew just how much he'd put himself on the line, vouching for her, even though she wasn't his daughter. It would've been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate her.

"I won't let you down," She promised.

He nodded. She had trouble reading gods' emotions, but she wondered if he had some doubts.

"Your friend Ethan—"

"He's not my friend," She blurted out. Then she realized it was probably rude to interrupt. "Sorry."

"Your former friend Ethan," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Nemesis's pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Thalia. Even the bravest can fall."

"Ethan fell pretty hard," She agreed. "He's dead."

Poseidon shook his head. "No, Thalia. He is not."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Ethan still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him."

"How can he be alive?" She said. "That fall should've killed him!"

Poseidon looked troubled. "I don't know, Thalia, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength."

"What about Atlas?" She said. "What's to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?"

Her uncle snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my niece. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos's army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death."

"Ethan did it," She said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Lou into saving him and used her to convince Artemis to take the sky."

"Yes," Poseidon said. "Ethan is… an interesting case."

He wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd.

"I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my niece. We may not speak again for some time."

And just like that he was gone.

"You uncle takes a lot of risk you know?"

Thalia whirled around to find Athena. She looked so much like Annabeth that she almost called her that. Thankfully though, she didn't.

"I know." She admitted.

Athena stared at her. "Do not presume your uncle is doing this out of the kindness of his heart. He has ulterior motives for you, girl. He is a very shrewd and manipulative person. He will do anything to get what he wants. He will-"

"Do not badmouth my brother. Especially when he is not around to defend himself."

Thalia craned her neck to see Perseus coming from behind Athena. The wisdom goddess turned around. She glared at Perseus. "Oh, and why shouldn't I?"

Thalia tried to get away from the two squabbling gods, but Perseus glanced at her and told her to wait a sec. He looked at Athena. "For a while, I actually thought it might have been my brother's fault for the rivalry. But then, one day I meet you. And I have to say that you are by far THE most arrogant and prideful person I have ever met in my entire adult life. And that's saying something because Zeus is my brother."

Athena snorted. "I am not. Your brother is that way. He is so dumb and stup-"

"Don't complete that!" He warned Athena. "You have no idea. Well actually, I do. Athena, why don't you go play a game of chess with your uncle. We'll see how 'dumb' he is then."

Athena scoffed at him. "Most certainly not. It is beneath me to sit at the same table with such an-"

"Intelligent and nice person." Perseus completed.

He looked at her harshly, making her cringe. "You know what Athena, fuck you. That's right. Fuck you and your fucking ego. You are the most idiotic person I have ever met, even though you are the wisdom goddess. You only get your knowledge due to your fucking domain. You are so stupid as to believe you can be better than your uncle. Well. I hate to break it to you kiddo, but Poseidon is far more powerful than you can ever be. He is also smarter than you in everything other than knowledge. You're just like Mnemosyne. A fucking mug-up and know it all. You do anything that's required to get what you want. You're the manipulative one Athena. Bloody Quid Pro Ho."

He dragged Thalia away from a wide-eyed, stunned wisdom goddess. She opened and closed her mouth several times. She couldn't even speak. She couldn't fathom that someone spoke to her like that. She glared at their retreating forms. Oh, she would get her revenge.

.

.

.

.

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* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Most of the people are just saying Percabeth, so I thought why the hell not?**

 **By the way, if you guys want to see the video from which I took the Zeus and Percy fight scene, go to youtube and search 'Lucifer vs Amenadiel '1x12'**

 **Also, I made Athena look bad so that she can be the root cause of the greeks vs romans later on.**

 **Many people don't acknowledge it, but it's true. She was the root cause of the greek/roman battle. She couldn't suck up her bloody pride.**

 **But rest assured, her children won't be affected by this. Annabeth will remain same.**

 **For a while, this is it. I seriously cannot update for a quite a while. Months even. My exams are now threateningly near.**

 **So I guess it's good bye. See you all next time.**


	13. King of the Classroom

**Hello guys. I thought of doing one more chapter as a compensation for how I fucked up the previous chapter. I am so sorry for that. Pls go and read it again, I've made the necessary changes. Thanks for reading it anyway.**

* * *

 _Previously on The Devil,_

 _He looked at her harshly, making her cringe. "You know what Athena, fuck you. That's right. Fuck you and your fucking ego. You are the most idiotic person I have ever met, even though you are the wisdom goddess. You only get your knowledge due to your fucking domain. You are so stupid as to believe you can be better than your uncle. Well. I hate to break it to you kiddo, but Poseidon is far more powerful than you can ever be. He is also smarter than you in everything other than knowledge. You're just like Mnemosyne. A fucking mug-up and know it all. You do anything that's required to get what you want. You're the manipulative one Athena. Bloody Quid Pro Ho."_

 _He dragged Thalia away from a wide-eyed, stunned wisdom goddess. She opened and closed her mouth several times. She couldn't even speak. She couldn't fathom that someone spoke to her like that. She glared at their retreating forms. Oh, she would get her revenge._

* * *

 _(A month after the winter solstice)_

Annabeth was roughly woken up by a splash of water to her face. She shot from her bed and glared at the smirking figure she recognized as Percy.

Today marked the end of the sixth month since Percy had stayed in camp. And what a six month period it was. Six months of hell!

For the first few days he had been nice. Then when the training started, he became an ABSOLUTE dick to them.

He had handpicked a few worthy campers that he would train. It consisted of Annabeth, Thalia, Nico (even though he was eleven), Luke, Clarisse, Charles (Beckendorf) and Will Solace.

Every day, he would wake them up at five in the morning. Sharp at five. The thing was, he didn't even bother nudging them or shaking them. Nope. He would directly splash a mug of water, even wetting their clothes and part of the bed. At one point, he thought it'd be funny to put a whole bucket onto Annabeth's bed. Needless to say, that day's training went to shit.

Anyway, after waking them up, he would make them run around the whole camp at least thirty to forty times. The first time he'd said it, they looked at him like he was crazy. But he insisted on it, saying that there was no use being a demigod if your stamina was that of a mortal's.

Only Nico had gotten a little leeway because he was still too young for that sort of training. No. he was made to run around the camp only twenty times. Please note the sarcasm in the previous statement.

And then, when they'd finally finished running, he would immediately make them drop and do five hundred push-ups. They somehow managed to do it. After another five hundred crunches, they were made to do around two hundred and fifty burpees. Ah the burpees, how they hated it. Again, Nico got off lucky. He had to do two hundred of push-ups and crunches and just a hundred burpees.

A burpee was done by first doing a push-up, then standing up and jumping as high as possible. Then they had to drop and do another push-up and then go back up to jump. It really really sucked. But the end of this, their body hurt so badly that they were surprised their muscles didn't tear off.

By the time this was over, which would usually be at seven, they would get breakfast. Breakfast wouldn't be at the usual time though for them. It was earlier. He had specially ordered the nymphs to get only a specific diet for them. No. Junk. Food. At. ALL. Not even a little bit. He claimed it was for their benefit.

After breakfast, they would get a four hour break to do whatever the hell they wanted. They would go and take a bath at this point. Percy had told Chiron to let them off of all activities. He said that he would take care of ALL their training, which unfortunately, included classes. He made them sit in the class straight from eleven in the morning to two in the afternoon.

They thought he wouldn't be able to teach them any thing related to studies, but boy were they wrong. It's not like he taught them calculus and stuff, but mostly History and Languages. He made a special monsters class where he would teach them about every greek monster that existed and their strengths and weaknesses and how to taunt them, how to run from them if you were in a fucked up situation.

His History classes weren't as bad as they thought it would be. Who knew that the devil could teach well? Maybe it was because he made sure it wasn't boring. He made it...interactive. He used smart boards and videos and other stuff. It also helped that he kept on making jokes that had double-meanings to them. Poor Nico would rack his brains trying to understand it while the others guffawed hysterically. Somehow, they liked his class. A lot better than running around camp anyway.

He started to teach them Greek at first. Properly. They learnt all the ancient dialects too, which made it easier to eavesdrop on the titans whenever they dreamt of them.

He also taught them Latin, for some reason, and would soon teach them French, and German and Russian and...well you get the idea. They were surprised at the number of languages he knew. When they asked him whether he could speak more than ten languages, he responded by saying 'Of course, I'm the devil. I speak everything.'

At two in the afternoon, they would eat lunch just like everybody else, but then again they were brought special lunches. He would watch them like a hawk when they ate. Just to make sure that the other campers didn't give them anything from their own plates.

After lunch, they were given a two hour gap, where again, they were allowed to do anything. After that, there was combat training. The harshest thing they had ever gone through. When they heard the name combat training, they thought it would be a weapons training or something of the sort. Nope. Straight up agility tests.

A circuit would be laid out in the arena. The first part would be jumping above some low-height bars that were kept. Mostly only till their knee level. Then, there was a ladder kind of thing laid on the floor and they had to run through it, but the tricky thing was that the spacing between the rungs was random, so they couldn't go into a pattern. Their inborn instincts had to come through.

Then there were some high jumps, and finally, a set of tires. They had to run in such a way that their feet only touched the ground encircled by the tires. Sometimes, they would get unlucky and their legs would graze the inside of the tire, causing a chain reaction that ended with them face first on the floor.

When this was over, they'd get a fifteen minute break before he started with the punches and kicks. It should have been really easy for them, but the training they just went through made it really difficult. Their arms felt like lead as they continued banging the leather dummies in front of them. This total thing was for another two hours.

Then, they'd get a fifteen minute break again, and finally the weapons training would start. The weapons training was for another two hours. Each person was to pick the weapon they preferred the most, magical or not. He would line them up and make them spar against each other. He then pointed out their mistakes and made them do it again, and again until they were so exhausted they dropped to the ground like a bag of sacks.

Oh. But that's not all. The finale of the day would be for all of them to face him at once. The ultimate skill test. The first day, they had been so overconfident that they charged him at once, from all directions. He merely ducked and they had almost skewered each other.

He didn't even bother giving them wooden swords to practice. He claimed that using real swords would increase their awareness and the instinct to survive.

He then told them to shoo off and take another bath before dinner. At dinner, he would once again keep watch while the nymphs served only what he'd told them to.

After dinner was campfire and blah blah blah. The end of the day.

Anyways, Annabeth was glaring at a smirking Percy. "You don't have to splash water you know?" She grumbled as she reluctantly pushed herself off the bed. She walked to the door, before Percy stopped her.

"Ah ah ah! Are you forgetting something?"

Her eyes widened. She completely forgot about brushing her teeth. Yuck. A child of Athena never forgets. Though she did wonder. Percy had this habit of making them do it this early in the morning. She shrugged, it was fine by her. She did it anyway.

She grabbed a tube of paste and squeezed it a little. Sadly, the tube was only a plastic one, and she had the superhuman strength that came with being a demigod. She watched in horror as half the tube emptied itself onto the mirror.

"AARGH!"

She wiped some of the paste off and brushed her teeth. When she came out of the bathroom, Percy was still standing there.

"You were taking so long. I actually thought you decided to pleasure yourself in there."

She rolled her eyes. After half a year of listening to his dirty jokes, she had gotten used to him making comments like that.

She went outside to the edge of the camp to see that the others were already there, with half-sleepy faces and some of them groaning. Percy sighed looking at their faces.

"Look at your pathetic faces. Go on! Run!"

They started to jog slowly around the camp. Suddenly Percy was behind them, yelling at them to go faster.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! RUN FASTER! MY GRANDMOTHER CAN RUN FASTER THAN YOU!"

That sent them. They ran and ran and ran around the camp. They later finished their morning 'warm-up' and headed to breakfast. They sat on one single table since nobody else was there.

Percy sat at the head of the table, eating a slice of pizza.

"Hmm. Yum!" He savoured the taste exaggeratedly, just to annoy the hell out of them. "Oh man this mortal food is sooo good!". He purposely stretched the pizza bite so the cheese lines could be seen being stretched taut before snapping.

The demigods glared at him, before glaring at the food that had been given to them. Oatmeal and scrambled eggs. Now, they were fine with the eggs, but the oatmeal...not so much.

Percy smirked at them before conjuring a burger straight from KFC and eating it.

After breakfast, they all headed off to take a bath and you know, get changed. They had thanked him for one thing though. He had extended their cabins and added bathrooms in them. Not normal ones. The high class ones you find only in hotels.

Percy sighed. He walked into the Big House and into his room. He noticed that their physique had improved. A lot. They were able to run around the camp with ease now. Their weaponry skills had massively increased and they had learnt how to work as a team to take down the most powerful of opponents. He also taught them to resist mental manipulation. just in case Merediana decided to appear.

He knew that being a god, he didn't need to take a shower. His body would stay fresh for a long time. But still, he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the scalding hot water fall to his bare body, creating steam as it collided with his hair and his back.

For awhile, he stood there under the shower, thinking about his students. His students. Who would have ever thought that the devil would start teaching classes. So that's what he had been reduced to. From 'Lord of Hell' to 'King of the Classroom'.

He turned off the shower and wiped himself and stepped outside, to see Hestia sitting there on his bed, in her twenty year old form. She was wearing a simple brown dress as usual, but Percy felt that she looked really beautiful in that. Then again, he felt every goddess was beautiful.

Her expression changed to shock upon seeing him. He had only covered his lower body with a plain white towel. On the towel, it was written 'Please Open' in blood red and a fancy script.

Her face turned gold with embarrassment as she saw his body. She looked away when she saw what was written on the towel.

For about two seconds, Percy stood there with a shocked expression on his face. However, upon seeing seeing Hestia blush like that, a very dirty thought came to his mind. Yeah she's his sister and stuff, but gods don't have DNA. It honestly doesn't matter. Besides, if they did follow the whole no screwing your sister thing, then there wouldn't be any life on earth.

He smirked and slowly made his way to the bed, where she sat.

Hestia was blatantly looking away from the half-nude figure in front of her. "Perseus please flash some clothes on." She said, but desperation tinged her voice, as if she didn't actually want him to do that.

His smirk grew even wider. "And why would I do that, sister dearest? After all, someone's enjoying the view.". He lazily opened his towel in front of her face, dropping it to the floor, his manhood popping out in front of her, begging to be unleashed.

She blushed even more, her face resembling a golden apple from the gardens of the Hesperides. She turned away from Percy, trying to resist the temptation to touch it.

"Perseus please.". But her voice betrayed her words. There was longing in her voice. Of course, Percy recognized it. Every woman he slept with said the same thing. He promptly plopped right beside her.

She turned towards him and marvelled at his body. It was the pinnacle of beauty. He had a lean, athletic figure of a fighter and was quite tall. She dared not to look below though.

He smirked at her. "It's okay. Go on."

She suddenly stood up. "I can't. I am a maiden."

He looked at her in mock hurt. "What kind of person do you think me to be sister? I wasn't going to put it there. Only elsewhere."

That was it. The final straw. Years of sexual frustration built up. She jumped him and started to kiss him wildly.

"Mmm. Oh yeah. Damn Hestia, you have a lot of things pending."

He flipped her over do she was below him and started to kiss her more fervently. He went down from her mouth, to her neck.

She suddenly moaned in ecstasy as her bit the side of her neck. He then got off her and kneeled on the bed, beside her. He climbed on top of her and bent downwards, so he wasn't putting any weight on her. As their tongues battled for dominance, he reached behind her back and found a zipper.

He pulled it open until it couldn't be pulled anymore. He got off her and slowly pulled her garments off to reveal her in a fiery orange bra and underwear.

He laid down on the bed and allowed her to sit on top of him. She moaned in pleasure as he rubbed his now erect manhood against her covered clit. He reached up and squeezed her boobs, eliciting a soft moan from her.

He reached behind and felt the hook and unclasped her bra, taking it and flinging it aside, revealing her averaged sized breasts. He got up, causing them to changed positions. He bit on her nipple, making her yelp a little. He moved downwards, and using his teeth, removed her soaked underwear too.

She looked at him with lust in her eyes, clear as day. He made her spread her legs open and put his head in between. Licking her wet pussy, he grabbed one of her breasts and squeezed it hard, making her moan with pleasure.

He then pulled away, and stuck two fingers inside, making her gasp due to the sudden intrusion. He fingered her to the point where she was screaming in pleasure.

"PERSEUS!"

"AAAHH! PERSEUS!"

This went on and on for quite a while, before the goddess couldn't take it it anymore and she collapsed onto the bed, convulsing with pleasure.

Transparent liquid squirted out of her pussy and landed on Percy's face. He rubbed it away stuck those fingers in her mouth, making her suck on them.

He sat on the bed and instructed her to kneel on the floor. She complied. He grabbed her head and stuffed his cock into her mouth. He held it there for a while, all nine inches inside her mouth. He took it out and then again put it in. He then increased the speed so that he was basically fucking her face.

He groaned in pleasure as he thrust in and out of her mouth. Pretty soon, she too was drenched in semen.

Drained of energy, he fell to the bed, panting. Moments later, Hestia joined him on the bed. The both of them panted tiredly. Having sex seemed to use more energy than fighting an army it seemed.

He turned his head and looked at her. "It's been a few centuries since we last did that."

She half-glared at him. "Last time you used your magic on me. I couldn't even say no."

He laughed a little. "Yeah. But this time it was all you."

She looked at him incredulously. "Excuse me. You came to me and literally put your dick in front of my face. What was I supposed to do? Ignore it?"

He smirked. "You couldn't have ignored THAT. It is impossible. You know it."

She sighed. "Yes I do. Now do you have ambrosia? I need to get back to Olympus. Hera wants to talk."

He got up. "Just a sec."

He went to the bathroom and washed himself off, then flashed some clothes on. He walked outside back to see Hestia dressed again. She too had cleaned herself. He saw that the bed was made proper again. There were no signs of two people having sex.

He reached into a drawer and found a packet of ambrosia and opened it. He pulled one out and gave it to Hestia and he ate one himself.

She gave him a small smile and flashed out of the room, leaving him alone inside with only his Playstation 4 to keep him company. After all, there was still two hours for his class.

* * *

 _(Three hours later)_

"FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK APOLLO!" Percy yelled as his character got shot in the head with a sniper.

From the headset, he could hear Apollo laughing as the kill-cam was replayed.

Yep. The Lord of Hell was playing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare with Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon and Hephaestus.

Percy immediately ran to find Apollo's character as he re-spawned. He found a player tagged ' _TheAwesomeSun_ ' a few yards away, back turned towards him. Smirking slightly, he switched his weapon for a knife and creeped towards him, by pressing the button with the red square on it.

He then pressed R3 to stab Apollo in the back. Literally. He smirked when a message popped up at the bottom of the screen.

 _TheAwesomeSun was killed by LuciferMorningstar_

"FUUUUUUUCCK!" Apollo screamed through the headset.

Percy went to find the others. He noticed a player sitting at the pool. He threw a grenade inside the pool and hid behind a column.

BOOM!

 _Lord_of_the_Seas was killed by LuciferMorningstar_

"NOOOOO! How did you kill me? I was in the water!."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Poseidon this is a game. You don't get power boosts by being in the water."

He heard Poseidon cursing through the headset.

Percy turned around and suddenly his character fell down and the screen went red. He growled. Some mother fucker did a melee attack on him.

A message came on the screen.

 _LuciferMorningstar was killed by SpeedForce_

"SHIT!" Percy shouted.

"Sorry bro! A game's a game." Hermes quirked through the headset.

As soon as he re-spawned, he died again. Another message popped up.

 _LuciferMorningstar was killed by ForgeMaster_

"AAAARGH!"

He re-spawned again and looked for Hephaestus. Long story short, they found each other. Percy moved his character to hide behind a column as Hephaestus opened heavy fire on them with what looked like to be a fucking M134 Minigun.

He heard Hephaestus curse as his ammo got over. Percy took the chance and shot him several times with his M4A1.

 _ForgeMaster was killed by LuciferMorningstar_

"Ah crap!" Hephaestus exclaimed as his character died once again.

Percy found Apollo and shot him in the hid with a pistol three times. He leaned back satisfied when Apollo's character crumpled to the ground.

 _TheAwesomeSun was killed by LuciferMorningstar_

He was interrupted when he heard a throat clear behind him. He turned around to see Annabeth standing there, arms crossed. But she had an amused expression on her face.

He cursed as he realised that he was late for the class. He removed his headset and just left it there and quickly dragged Annabeth out of the room. He locked it and walked downstairs to the front door briskly.

He jogged to the class. Annabeth jogged beside him.

"So...were you playing Call of Duty there? With Apollo and Hermes?"

He blushed slightly. "Yeah. I got bored. How long were you there?"

She shook her head. Never had she expected the gods to play video games.

"For half an hour. How big is your room? It's nearly as big as the Big House itself. And why do you have a bowling lane and a hot pool INSIDE your room?

He shrugged. "It's cool that's why."

Percy and Annabeth reached the class an hour late. He walked into the classroom and saw the demigods throwing paper planes around and sitting on the desks.

As soon as he walked in, they all got off the desks and sat in their seats. He sighed.

"Where were you?" Thalia asked suspiciously.

He sighed again. He seemed to be sighing a lot these days.

Unfortunately, Annabeth spoke before he could give any excuses.

"He was playing Call of Duty with Lord Apollo and some others."

The demigods' eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.

"YOU WHAT!" Luke yelled.

Percy rubbed the back of his head. "What? I had four hours to kill. Playstation is a good distraction."

"THAT'S AWESOME! When can we play?" Luke asked.

He looked at the demigods weirdly. They all had the same hungry look on their face. They all wanted to play too. He sighed.

"Okay. After lunch, come to my room in the Big House. I'll conjure up some controllers for you guys."

They cheered as if he had told them that Kronos tripped on a stone and died.

He clapped his hands to get their attention. "Okay guys. Today is a very very important and very fun lesson for you guys."

They looked at him.

"Today, I am going to teach you the bad side of the Greek language."

Realisation dawned upon them as they realised what he was saying. He was going to teach them bad words in Greek.

"But first. Nico. Leave the class. I have a special class for you later on. Go and do whatever you feel like for now."

A reluctant Nico left the class, taking his books. Percy felt almost sorry for him, but he knew that eleven was a bit too early for this.

* * *

"Γαμήσου"

They looked at him, not understanding. He rolled his eyes. "It means 'fuck you'."

The demigods looked at him, grinning as they wrote the word down.

He half-glared at them. "You guys are pathetic. This is literally the only class where you brought your notes out."

They responded by grinning even wider. He rolled his eyes and wrote another word.

"Κάθαρμα. Son of a bitch"

"μητέρα μαλάκα. Mother fucker"

"ψωλή μαλάκα. Dickhead"

"μπάσταρδος. Bastard"

"ψωλή κορόιδο. Cocksucker"

They hurriedly wrote down everything, not missing even a single point.

Out of the blue, Annabeth raised her hand. Percy raised an eyebrow. What doubt would she have for THIS?

"Percy, this is fun and all, but how is it important?"

The others too looked at him. "Yeah? How?" Will asked.

He looked at them. "When taunting a monster, Greek will insult them much more than English. The dumber monsters will actually understand Greek. It's invaluable for demigods. Plus you need it while playing COD today."

Annabeth nodded her head but inside, she rolled her eyes. She knew that the real reason he taught them that was because he hadn't prepared what to teach beforehand. He just taught them whatever he felt like teaching at the moment. But she had to admit it was a really fun class.

After lunch, which consisted of tacos and salads, the demigods went into the Big House. For the first time, they were allowed into the second floor of the Big House.

They gasped as they entered the room.

It was bigger on the inside than it looked. It had to be at least as big as the Big House itself. They looked around and saw a bad at one end. It was a bed that even cyclops could fit in.

There was an attached bathroom and there was a ginormous flat screen T.V on the far end. Nearly as big as an IMAX theatre screen.

There was a small golf course, just for hitting it into the hole, one lane where they could even do some bowling.

A pool with steaming water could be seen on the right side. The floor of the pool was made of glowing abalone, which made the water sparkle.

The entire floor was hardwood, the polished planks feeling nice on their feet. Just before they entered he told them to remove their shoes. He didn't want shoes in the bedroom.

They sat in front of the huge screen and the demigods started to play a local multiplayer game of Call of Duty with Percy. Normally, split screen with so many people would suck, but then several screens popped in front of them, so there was no need to look at the screen. It almost felt like an online multiplayer.

Two hours later they had to go for combat training. After a long and hard ass whipping, they had to go for a bath, again. Dinner was served soon after.

It was, for once, a surprisingly good dinner. They had gotten fed up with Casseroles. Today it was a King Salmon with Horseradish Crust & sautéed kale and garlic scapes and also a Haricots Verts and Cannellini Salad.

The munched noisily and savoured the taste of good food after a long time.

Percy sat there and smirked at them. Luke looked at him. "Why the good food today Percy?"

Percy had a smirk on his face. "Oh. That's the celebration for the end of early morning running."

They let out a huge cheer at that, but stopped when Chiron looked at them from the head table.

Annabeth looked suspiciously at him. "Wait. You wouldn't just cancel it like that."

The other demigods suddenly realised it too.

Percy looked at them evilly. "Why you're right of course. From tomorrow onwards, you'll have combat training in the morning and instead of three hours, you will have five hours of weapons training by yours truly."

They let out a groan at that. Tomorrow was going to suck.

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.

.

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* * *

A/N:

So how was it. I thought a whole chapter would suffice for this. After all, he did tell Zeus he was going to train them.

BTW, the fling with Hestia is what it is. A fling. It doesn't mean anything. It's just a fling. Spring fling. Whatever you want to call it. After all, even in the T.V series, Lucifer is known to do things like that.

But now you guys understand why the story rating is M. This is precisely why.


	14. The God who Turned

**Alright. I squeezed in some time over the past few days to write this chapter. I dunno how it is but okay. Review and tell me.**

 **To the guys who suggested a Harem - I have been thinking about it and it is a good idea. Mainly because everyone is so divided on who he should be with. I'll let some more flings go on before I decide whether a harem will be plausible or not.**

* * *

 _Previously on The Devil,_

 _It was, for once, a surprisingly good dinner. They had gotten fed up with Casseroles. Today it was a King Salmon with Horseradish Crust & sautéed kale and garlic scapes and also a Haricots Verts and Cannellini Salad._

 _The munched noisily and savoured the taste of good food after a long time._

 _Percy sat there and smirked at them. Luke looked at him. "Why the good food today Percy?"_

 _Percy had a smirk on his face. "Oh. That's the celebration for the end of early morning running."_

 _They let out a huge cheer at that, but stopped when Chiron looked at them from the head table._

 _Annabeth looked suspiciously at him. "Wait. You wouldn't just cancel it like that."_

 _The other demigods suddenly realised it too._

 _Percy looked at them evilly. "Why you're right of course. From tomorrow onwards, you'll have combat training in the morning and instead of three hours, you will have five hours of weapons training by yours truly."_

 _They let out a groan at that. Tomorrow was going to suck._

* * *

The demigods were rather glum today. Why? Because most of the campers were going to go back to their homes. Only a few of them were year round campers.

Meanwhile, Annabeth rubbed her eyes as the morning sunlight hit her eyes. Wait. Sunlight?

She shot up straight in her bed. She looked around to see her siblings packing their bags and trudging out of the cabin with suitcases in hand.

She glanced at the clock.

 _8:05 AM_

Huh? She wondered. Wasn't Percy supposed to splash water on her three hours ago for the new combat training lessons?

She hastily put on a pair of jeans and an orange camp t-shirt and hurried out of the cabin. Then she realised what day it was. The day when the campers would go back home.

She knew she would miss a lot of these campers. These six months hadn't been boring. In fact, she was sure that without the training, she would have been really bored.

She saw Malcolm, her sibling, leave. He was the only other child of Athena who was nearly as smart as her. It made discussions with him very easy.

She went to the bathroom and closed the door. She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She noticed that her baby fat was almost gone now. She lifted the hem of her shirt all the way till her bra.

She could see a very faint line running vertically across her stomach. She felt her stomach. It was harder than before definitely, and she turned sideways and looked at her figure. It had improved. A lot. Gone was the tiny amount of fat at her sides. She looked like a supermodel now. A going-to-be-sixteen in three days but supermodel nonetheless.

For once she felt grateful for the harsh training given by Percy. She was able to take down anybody in the entire camp, save for Percy himself, Thalia and Luke. It was mostly a stalemate with Luke and Thalia.

He had perfected her skill with knives and daggers. He even taught her the art of throwing knives. She wondered whether there was any weapon that he didn't know how to use. Oh but wait. There was one. The bow and arrow.

She laughed a little thinking about it. He absolutely SUCKED at using a bow. She remembered how he had somehow managed to shoot Chiron's tail even when Chiron was right beside him.

She remembered Chiron's announcement. 'From this moment onwards, Perseus is prohibited from using a bow under any circumstances. Not even in a life or death situation.'

She took some water from the tap and splashed it on her face, letting it awaken her completely. She dried herself and brushed, then went to the Big House to look for Percy.

When she reached, she saw Chiron, Percy and Mr. D playing a game of pinochle. And by the looks of it, Mr. D was losing badly. She let a smile cross her face when she remembered how happy Mr. D had been a few months back. Percy had gone straight to Olympus, taken Ariadne and brought her to Mr. D. Needless to say, from that day on, the both of them became good friends.

He still called them by their wrong names though, but by now all the campers knew that he only did it to annoy them.

She approached the three of them.

Chiron nudged Percy slightly so that he turned around to see her.

"Ah Annie."

She glared at him. "Don't call me Annie."

Percy raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, _Annie._ Tell Luke, Nico and Thalia to pack their bags. You too. We're going on a holiday."

Her face must have been priceless, because both Chiron and Mr. D started laughing at her. She was so surprised by the news that she didn't even bother to correct him for her name the second time. Her jaw dropped to the floor.

"W-W-What?"

Percy looked at Chiron. "Told you. Now pay up Chiron."

The grumbling centaur reluctantly took out ten drachmas and gave it to a smirking Percy.

Annabeth glared at him. "Did you bet on me?"

"Yep. I told Chiron that you would start stammering when we told you the news. He denied, telling me that no child of Athena could stammer. I guess I won...Now go and pack. Get those three in an hour, or else I'll leave without you." He said nonchalantly.

The result was instantaneous. Annabeth scampered off to find Luke, Thalia and Bianca.

She barged into the Zeus cabin, to find Thalia in her underwear. By the looks of it, she was just wearing her bra.

"ANNABETH!" Thalia exclaimed, angry and embarrassed at the same time.

Annabeth blushed, but didn't bother apologising. "Pack your bags Thalia. Percy is taking us on a field trip."

Thalia's anger melted away.

"A field trip?" She questioned. "Where?"

"He didn't say, but we have to be ready in an hour."

Thalia looked at her skeptically. "Okayyy, but why are you so excited? Were were going to go tomorrow or day after to the college right?"

Annabeth looked at her pointedly. "It's Percy, Thalia. Have you seen the way he spends money? It's not going to be JUST a field trip. Plus no monsters would attack us then."

Thalia nodded her head. "Cool. I'll be ready. Who else is coming?"

"Luke and Bianca" Annabeth called back as she headed out of her best friend's cabin, not wanting to be in her naked presence for much longer.

Thalia stared at the disappearing figure of the blonde demigoddess. "Always so excited about leaving camp." She grumbled. "Almost as if this was a prison and she got her parole."

Annabeth was walking towards the other cabins when she found a rather unpleasant sight. Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. Annabeth knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she didn't even try to insult her. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"What news?" Annabeth asked.

Clarisse looked at her apprehensively. "I found Krios. He is rallying a very very big load of monsters."

Annabeth stared at her. "How big?"

Clarisse actually looked scared at the prospect. "Enough to destroy camp five times over big." She said timidly.

Annabeth gulped. That was a VERY big army indeed. But she put those thoughts aside for the moment. They could worry about the titans later. Right now, they really needed a break after six hard months of training.

She helped Clarisse to her cabin and then went to the Hermes cabin to call Luke and Nico.

She approached the familiar shack of a cabin which had an old sort of look to it. She tapped the caduceus on the door several times. An annoyed Luke opened it, tooth brush still in his mouth.

"Whdh u wnt Annabph?"

She stifled a laugh at how he sounded when the brush was inside his mouth.

"You and Nico better pack your bags soon. We're going on a holiday in about thirty minutes."

Luke raised an eyebrow before shrugging and going back to the bathroom. Annabeth sighed. She then suddenly realised something.

"Shit!" She cursed.

In her excitement to inform them to pack their bags, she had completely forgotten to pack her own. She rushed to cabin six in a hurry.

* * *

Percy moved his queen piece two spaces before holding his hand out to Dionysus.

"Checkmate buddy."

Dionysus stared at the chess set in front of him and grumbled, handing over drachmas into Percy's waiting hand. He glared at the god in front of him.

"Since when did you become good at this?" He asked, trying to hide his annoyance at having lost twenty drachmas.

Percy smirked at him. "Playing chess with the god of the seas tends to improve your skills. Plus it helped that you didn't shield your thoughts, so I knew exactly which pieces you moved." He said nonchalantly.

Dionysus stood from his chair abruptly. "HA! You cheated! Give my money back!"

Percy retorted indignantly. "Hey! Not my fault you couldn't hide your thoughts. I could hear them clear as day. I wasn't even using my powers to do so."

Dionysus grumbled. "Fine. So this ends our match. Now I suppose you have to take Anniebell and her friends."

Percy rolled his eyes. It seemed that he would never call them by their real names. "Yes D. I do. They deserve a break after all this. There is no use of their training if they start hating the pure monotony of it. Change of place is required."

Dionysus looked interested. "Where are you taking them anyway?"

"Los Angeles." He said. "I have a nightclub there. It's called LUX. You should drop by sometime."

Dionysus looked at him incredulously. "A nightclub! And you didn't tell me this before!"

Percy smirked at Mr. D's face, knowing that the wine god couldn't drink any alcohol or go after any woman for his one century period.

"Anyway. Lets wrap this up. See you later D."

Without waiting for a reply, Percy walked off of the porch of the Big House. He didn't go far when a certain blonde daughter of Athena and her best friend along with Luke and a hyperactive eleven year old ran up to him with expectant faces.

He sighed. "You know I was half-hoping you guys would bail out. Now I actually do have to take you out."

The demigods cheerfully followed him out of camp and onto the road opposite to Half-Blood Hill.

Thalia was confused. "Wait. Where are we going and how will we get there?"

Percy merely grinned in response. He pointed to the sky as a sleek black and red military helicopter descended from the sky, landing on the road, cutting off some leaves from the trees as it descended.

They were shocked but didn't say anything. Thalia, however, was a different case. She was shaking in fear.

"No." She mumbled.

Percy looked at her uneasily, realising she had a fear of heights. "Oh well." He muttered, before snapping his fingers in front of her. She immediately fell asleep, losing her balance. Luckily Percy caught her and placed her inside the chopper.

He looked at the demigods, who were still standing outside. "Well what are you waiting for? Balls to grow? GET IN!" He hollered at them over the sound of the rotors spinning.

Overcoming their shock, they climbed inside what they found to be the most comfortable helicopter they had ever been in. Which was funny since this was the first helicopter they were in.

Percy yelled at the pilot to take them back to the club, though the demigods didn't understand what club he meant.

The helicopter lifted off, blowing away the smaller branches and slicing the leaves that were too close to the rotors. The chopper cleared it's way and lifted slightly high into the sky and flew in a straight direction west.

Annabeth noticed the direction they were going in. "Wait. Why are we going west? And where are we going?"

"Los Angeles." He replied.

Luke jumped in his seat. "Los Angeles? B-But it's right there!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "For Tartarus's sake Luke! We aren't going to Hades for a holiday. Trust me, he is the worst person for a holiday. Always on his damn iPad." He muttered the last part.

The demigods, especially Luke, let out a huge sigh. They trusted Percy of course. They just didn't trust Hades. Who knows when he might appear?

"He could have appeared any time Annabeth. Even in camp. Los Angeles is no different." Percy said.

Annabeth seemed to consider it, before her eyes suddenly narrowed. She glared at him suspiciously. "Did you just...read our minds?"

Percy laughed a little. "Well...I wasn't exactly reading your mind. It was more like you throwing your thoughts around. I really need to teach you guys to form a mental barrier. Do you know how irritating it is to continuously hear your thoughts?"

The demigods realised it and looked at him slightly apprehensively.

"So...you can hear ALL our thoughts?" Luke asked.

Percy sat a little straighter as he stared out of the window. "Yes. I'm flattered about how much you love my training." He said derisively.

The demigods looked down guiltily. They had cursed a LOT in their minds whenever he gave them extra training or when he woke them up. Some of the things they called him must have been very insulting. Especially to a god.

They looked at him with overwhelming guilt. Annabeth stared at him, little tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Percy." She said.

Percy looked at the others. They all had guilt written on it plain as day. Finally he couldn't take it.

.

.

.

He burst out laughing.

"OH BY CHAOS! LOOK AT YOUR FACES! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He clutched his stomach as he laughed, tilting slightly to the side as he continued laughing.

Annabeth stared at him for a split second before she realised what he had done to them. The little shit had utterly guilt tripped them to the point where they would have begged for his forgiveness.

She gave him the best glare that she could muster, before punching him in the arm as hard as possible before huffing and glaring outside the window.

Luke clenched his fists at his side, grinding his teeth. He admittedly did feel angry for falling for that trick. It was a trick he and his brothers Travis and Connor would use when caught for a prank. They would guilt trip the person by telling them how much the pranks were for friendship and fun nature and how the guy was being a spoilsport.

Nico, who hadn't really cursed Percy that much, just laughed a little along with him, before two glares landed on him, making him shut up.

Eventually, Percy ceased his laughter, something which Annabeth and Luke were grateful for.

Percy thanked Chaos that Thalia was asleep. She would have blasted the entire helicopter if she was tricked like that. Her emotions were always volatile. Somewhat like her father.

Percy didn't know what to do with Zeus. Of course, he felt angry at him. He hated him. Or...he used to. Now he wasn't so sure. Yes, Zeus had forced him to rule Hell, but then he thought about it. Ruling Hell had made him quite powerful. He didn't even have any domains and yet he was as powerful as his brothers. He thought of what could happen if he had domains.

Probably could single handedly defeat Typhon maybe, or take out the entire Olympian council. Domains were the most important part of a god. They tended to constitute around nine-tenths of a god's power.

But he didn't want any domains. He had been given some by the mortals. While he had no specific domain, he was glad for the advantages that came with it. No domains meant no ancient laws. No ancient laws meant that he could do as he pleased. He could even take over the world right now. Nobody could stop him. He wouldn't really be attacking any god or demigod, and thus the Olympians wouldn't bother.

But of course, he would do no such thing. He wasn't a cruel tyrant like his father. He wasn't a fool. He knew exactly what Kronos wanted to do. He wouldn't destroy the world. Definitely not.

Kronos was someone who craved attention. He needed an audience to display his power to. He needed a stage, a monument with his name plastered on it...'son of a bitch!' Percy thought.

Percy suddenly realised where Kronos was going to attack first. He was going to attack the most populated city in America...New York. The home of the gods. Of course, he should have guessed so, but then Percy thought that maybe his father would try to rebuild Orthrys before doing something as stupid as a direct assault on Olympus. Apparently not.

As they neared the city of Los Angeles, the second most populated city in America, they saw the sprawling metropolis and the towering skyscrapers fill the land below them. Percy noticed a slight dark tinge to the city, something he hadn't seen before. Almost as if Hades was doing something fishy. He shook himself from those thoughts. He needed to speak to Hades.

The city was surrounded by mountains on three sides and as they got closer they could even see the trademark 'HOLLYWOOD' on the side of one brown mountain.

The city's street pattern generally followed a grid plan, with uniform block lengths and occasional roads that cut across blocks.

As they got near the Hollywood area, a large building with a gleaming spire that seemed to touch the sky appeared in the view.

Annabeth gasped. It was a beautiful cladded tower. By the looks of it, there was a penthouse at the top. The penthouse floor of the building had two sides with floor to ceiling windows with an outside balcony. All in all, it was really lavish.

As they neared the building, a platform slowly emerged from the side, extending until it was large enough for the helicopter to land.

They waited for the deafening noise of the copter's rotor blades to stop and when it did, they got off.

They looked around in wonder. The view from up top was nice to say the least. The only other time they had gotten such a view was from Olympus. And that was months ago.

Percy carried Thalia bridal style as they walked towards the lone block of concrete on the roof. It wasn't anything special. It looked like as if someone literally cut a huge concrete pillar in a square shape and put it there.

Percy walked in front of the block and stood there. For a second nothing happened, but then a small device popped from the wall and started to scan his body. Once pleased, the wall split into two, reminding the demigods of the clashing rocks in the sea of monsters.

They nervously stepped inside. The wall closed and for a moment they were surrounded in darkness so black they couldn't even see their own fingers.

But just then the lights turned on. They found themselves to be in an elevator and it started to go down.

Nico stared at his kaleidoscopic surroundings. It really was. There were mirrors on all four sides and on top. He made faces and watched as the reflections did the same.

"Really Nico?" Annabeth chuckled.

Nico blushed in embarrassment, looking away from the mirror.

Percy smiled. This little holiday would prove good for them. In the mean time, he would have to go and check on Hades. Just a little reunion.

Jaws were dropped as the demigods entered the penthouse.

"Damn this is royal!" Thalia exclaimed.

Luke whistled. "Dude this is better than my father's palace!"

It was true. The penthouse was unbelievably lavish and was way too big to be a penthouse. They suspected that this too was a magical enhancement. Small outside but big inside.

Newly polished wooden floors and marble covered the floor. A combination that should have looked stupid, but somehow was pulled off. The gypsum separated area walls specifically were placed to ensure that eavesdropping into his penthouse would be impossible.

As they walked further into the house, the path split into two, one leading straight to various rooms and the other consisting of a small staircase which lead to a living room surrounded by glass windows on four sides, giving a panoramic view of the city.

Annabeth ran to the nearest window and examined the structures. "I would have probably put this here, and this there." She pointed at some pillars.

"The floor should be wooden here - and here."

"And also-"

"Okay that's enough Annabeth. I don't know about you, but we came here to have fun."

The blonde demigoddess glared at her two friends, her hands itching towards her knife. The two demigods stopped laughing upon seeing the murderous look on her face.

Slowly they backed off. "N-Now Annie. Wait a s- AAAAHHH! RUNN!" Luke yelled as he grabbed Thalia and sprinted away from a certain murderous blonde.

Sighing, Percy turned to Nico, who was gawking open-mouthed at the house.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed.

Percy sighed. "Nico. Go and have fun with the others okay. I will be going away for a little while. Tell the others that I'll be back in a few hours at most."

"Okay!" He said.

"And Nico."

"Yeah?"

"I can't believe I'm entrusting an eleven year old with this, but please make sure they don't break anything."

* * *

Percy walked out of the LUX tower and walked along the sidewalk. When he was sure that nobody was looking, his wings sprouted from his back and he just disappeared, causing the air around him to backlash, sending smaller objects hurtling around.

He reappeared in front of DOA studios. The doors in the lobby read: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING. He shook his head and pushed the double doors and entered the building.

Inside the lobby, muzak music was being played and the carpet and walls were steel gray. There was black leather furniture and an elevator. Charon was sitting on a raised podium wearing his traditional Italian business suit with a pair of shades to cover his eye sockets.

Percy walked forward, shoving aside any soul who dared to halt him. He walked straight in front of Charon, who suddenly found the death records interesting.

When Charon sensed that Percy didn't go, he looked up from his book and stared at Percy and spoke in a monotone. "Lord Hades is busy. Please come again some other time."

Growing irritated, Percy reached over the table and snatched the book away. His hand caught fire, burning the book until it was merely a pile of ashes.

Charon gulped and looked at him.

"I-I have done nothing! I swear!" He exclaimed.

Percy looked at him coldly. "Why are you afraid then, son of Nyx?"

Charon's legs were shaking in fear. Percy didn't need X-ray vision to see that. "Open the elevator. Now."

Regaining his bearings, Charon stood from his seat and pressed the elevator before stepping inside and ushering the other souls too. Percy stood in the elevator uncomfortably with at least thirty souls in what could be described as the most cramped place he had been in.

Without so much as casting a glance, he flipped a coin so it directly landed into Charon's hand. He ignored the repeated 'thank you' from the receptionist of the Underworld.

He walked by the guards, who cowered at his presence. He then reached the two lines, one leading to judgement and one leading to Asphodel.

He got closer to the gates. The howling started to become so loud it shook the ground at his feet, but it didn't affect him. Not even the slightest.

Then, about fifty feet in front of him, green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster.

It was a purebred Rottweiler, except of course that he was twice the size of a woolly mammoth, mostly invisible, and had three heads. Well, invisible to most. Percy could see right through the mist illusion cast by Hades.

He walked towards the gates. Cerberus growled, bring his teeth. Percy stopped for a second and looked at the monster. For a brief second his eyes flashed red and the monster saw images of itself being tortured in Hell.

Cerberus whimpered and moved out of the way, it's three heads bowing in submission. Dismissively, Percy reached the gates and pushed it open. The giant Stygian Iron gates creaked as they were flung open with a great force.

He walked further into the Underworld and he noticed the Fields of Asphodel. The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees, poplars, grew in clumps here and there.

The cavern ceiling was so high above it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed.

He glanced to the left and saw spirits flanked by security ghouls marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas.

Even from far away, He could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. He could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top.

Percy chuckled. His _dear_ brother had no idea how to torture souls. Hades was so old style. He glanced at the right.

The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls—a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colours. He could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.

He glared at that particular section. It wasn't fair. He hardly received any good souls. Though he disliked Zeus, he resented his brother Hades. For millennia, Hades would simply throw the souls which he didn't like into Tartarus.

Almost each and every child of Zeus and Poseidon was down in his domain. Not being tortured of course, but they served in his army. He didn't have anything like Elysium down there, so he gave them an offer. The ones who accepted it were inducted into his army and the ones who didn't were dipped into the Lethe before being placed into the body of a premature baby. Rebirth basically. Only unofficial.

He walked towards Hades's palace and kicked the double doors spartan style. The force of the kick sent the doors flying off of it's hinges and landing in front of one pissed Lord of the Dead. Hades stood from his ebony black throne and shrunk in size as he stepped down from the seat of power.

"Perseus." Hades growled, barely keeping his anger in check. Even Hades knew it wasn't wise to piss off Perseus. Not even in the safety of your own domain.

Perseus, however, strode towards him with elegance. Elegance that made the skeleton guards tremble with fear. Some of the guards dropped their bayonets onto the cold stone floor before picking it up again.

Hades was nervous, but he didn't show it.

Perseus glared at him. "What the fuck are you doing? _Brother_." He sneered the last part, as if it were a 'fuck you' to the face.

Hades glared right back at him. "The real question is, what are you doing here? This is my domain Perseus. You have no right to barge in whenever you feel like!"

Perseus shot him a warning look before turning around to observe the inside of the palace.. "Don't play games with me Hades. What are you up to? What sort of evil plan are you concocting?"

Hades's eyes narrowed. "You think I'm planning something? You blame me for everything!"

Perseus whirled around and he spoke in a deadly whisper. "Of course I do brother. You have Los Angeles covered in shadows. I could see it. No monster has resurfaced for quite a while now and many souls are missing from their place."

Hades looked at him a little apprehensively. "So? What does that prove?" He defended.

Perseus looked at him like he was an idiot. "You imbecile! You're trying to overthrow Zeus aren't you! You're taking advantage of father's rising."

Hades glared at him, but seeing as there was no other escape, he decided to just tell the truth.

"And? What has Zeus done to deserve that throne? It is my birthright! I'm the eldest! I should get it! Besides...father has agreed to spare me and my family. After all, I hadn't really done much in the war."

Perseus stared at him coldly. "Exactly. You didn't do much. That is why you don't deserve it. Now...I give you forty days to change your mind. After that, my offer is closed to you."

Perseus turned to leave. Just as he stepped out of the broken doorway, he heard Hades's voice. "Why wait? I tell you now. I stand by our father. He is much better than Zeus at least."

Perseus stared at him. "So be it. The next time I see you will be on the battlefield. You can pray to our father all you like. But remember that we once had a deal. A deal to help each other keep father in his prison...You don't just back out of a deal...especially one with the devil."

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* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Guys. Do you want Hades to be good or bad?**

 **Personally, I don't like Hades very much. I pretty much have the same opinion on him as Zeus. But I can have him change his mind and be good if the majority of you guys say so.**

 **Also decide the pairing.**

 **Oh yeah. Pls review. Tell me if the chapter was good or bad or worse or whatever.**

 **Thx for reading.**

 **Sincerely,**  
 **thebestofall**


	15. AUTHOR'S NOTE!(NOT A CHAPTER)

**Dear Readers,**

 **This isn't a chapter, but I'd like to inform you about my other story.**

 **It's called 'Battle for a Thousand Worlds' .**

 **Basically I've just put up one chapter for now, but it would be great if you guys read it and reviewed it.**

 **It's a crossover between PJO and Justice League. There are no good crossover stories out there, so I decided to make this.**

 **The link - s/12296822/1/Battle-for-a-Thousand-Worlds**

 **Sincerely,**  
 **thebestofall**


	16. Who the F is our Ally?

_Previously on The Devil,_

 _"And? What has Zeus done to deserve that throne? It is my birthright! I'm the eldest! I should get it! Besides...father has agreed to spare me and my family. After all, I hadn't really done much in the war."_

 _Perseus stared at him coldly. "Exactly. You didn't do much. That is why you don't deserve it. Now...I give you forty days to change your mind. After that, my offer is closed to you."_

 _Perseus turned to leave. Just as he stepped out of the broken doorway, he heard Hades's voice. "Why wait? I tell you now. I stand by our father. He is much better than Zeus at least."_

 _Perseus stared at him. "So be it. The next time I see you will be on the battlefield. You can pray to our father all you like. But remember that we once had a deal. A deal to help each other keep father in his prison...You don't just back out of a deal...especially one with the devil."_

* * *

"AAARGHH!" Thalia screamed as another bolt of lightning crashed into the skeleton, blasting it onto a million pieces of charred bone. Almost instantly, they began to knit themselves back.

The demigods stood back to back, wondering how in Hades those monsters had found them here. Not monsters. Skeleton Spartoi. The same ones like Thalia had encountered six months ago.

They had been trying to contact Percy somehow through their minds, but he didn't seem to respond.

Nico ducked behind a couch as an arrow whizzed past his ear. He sat there uncomfortably. He had gotten immense training from Percy, but he hadn't really fought a monster before. He was...scared.

But he shook himself off of his fear when he heard a painful scream, which he recognized as Annabeth's.

He looked over the couch and saw a skeleton looming over her, a shotgun in his hand. Judging by the pool of blood, she had been shot. Before the skeleton could do anything further, he took out the miniature version of Percy's sword. Percy had given it to him seeing as he had no other weapon.

With a yell, he charged the skeleton and ran it through with his sword. The skeleton crumbled into ashes. The whole fight stopped as everyone stared at him.

"N-Nico? How did you..."

"Later. Focus on the bastards first. Thalia, look after Annie." Luke said.

The others attacked the skeletons with a renewed vigour. It was very difficult for Nico. He was only eleven, turning twelve, and smaller than the skeletons, and slower and weaker and oh he could go on and on.

Only his luck kept him alive. He jumped onto the coffee table as the skeleton skewered the couch he was hiding behind. The table wobbled a little but seemed to hold his weight.

Sadly, he didn't realise that another skeleton was behind him. He felt a sharp pain at his right side and saw a small cut on his stomach. He ducked as the skeleton in front of him thrust it's sword forward, effectively stabbing it's fellow skeleton in the eye.

He rolled off the coffee table and landed near the railing. He panted a little, gasping for breath. They had been fighting these creatures non-stop for an hour. But normally that didn't matter. What mattered was that they used their own powers, which drained them a lot.

Luke wasn't doing much better. Even being the second best swordsman camp had ever seen, this was tough for him. He could have easily taken them on. The problem was that they wouldn't stay dead. Only Nico managed to kill one, somehow.

Luke got an idea. He remembered how Percy's sword had easily decimated the skeletons before. He looked at Nico, who was desperately defending himself.

"NICO! YOUR SWORD! NOW!"

Fortunately, the son of Hades seemed to get the message and tossed the miniature version of Percy's sword to Luke. As Luke caught it, he felt power wash over him, making him feel powerful. Not nearly as much as Percy's sword, but certainly more than enough. He tossed his free sword to Nico, who caught it in time to remove a skeleton's head.

He lifted his sword towards the skeletons, who were now weary of him. Luke felt the urge to stab the skeleton, so he did. He didn't think he could ever actually go that fast, but somehow he did.

He stabbed the first skeleton in the eye, disintegrating it and he spun around before slicing the second one in half from the waist down.

He then caught sight of Thalia, who was blasting the skeletons away with lightning, and a sudden thought came to his mind. What if she channeled the lightning through the Nico's sword? He decided it was worth a try.

"THALIA! LIGHTNING! HERE!" He pointed at his sword. For a second she didn't understand what he meant, but a grin formed on her face.

She held her hand out and a bolt of lightning arced it's way to the sword, and upon contact, Luke pointed the sword to the skeletons. He watched in sick fascination as tendrils of electricity fried the remaining skeletons until they were nothing but a pile of ashes.

The demigods let out a breath as they looked around the penthouse. Everything was in disarray. Couches and tables were smashed apart and almost everything that was glass was broken. Blood stains and skeleton ashes littered the floor and there were several charred spots on the wall due to the continuous lightning.

The chairs were flipped over, mostly broken. The television. Oh gods the television. Thalia had grabbed from the wall to smack away two of the skeleton warriors. Oh dear. They were so fucked.

* * *

Percy stormed back to his nightclub, his mood completely ruined, he pondered upon a few things. He didn't know what to make of Hades's betrayal. Sure, he didn't like his brother, but he'd never imagined that Hades would side with their father.

Their father. The one who ate them and nearly ate Percy too. Their father, a murderer and a thief. Their father, the usurper. Their father, who proclaimed himself above Chaos itself. The crooked one, the true lord of all evil.

Unlike his brothers, Kronos had not chosen to eat Percy. That was mainly because he gave off a titanly aura when he was born. Maybe his mother made it so, or whatever the reason. Kronos didn't eat him right away. But Percy wished that he did.

Kronos wanted Percy to be his right hand. His number one commander, whatever. Kronos wanted him to destroy anything that came in his way, hence why his father chose the name Perseus. The Destroyer.

Truly he was. He was the only one out of the seven siblings who had not gotten powers from his father. His powers had developed on it's own. He didn't know why or how. He didn't care.

Soon, Percy got to know Kronos's bad side. He witnessed the way Kronos would treat Rhea. He felt ashamed at not being able to do anything. He got angry. He wanted to rebel against his father. So he did. He knew his brothers and sisters were still alive in that disgusting stinking pit he called a stomach.

So one day, he served his father a really nasty drink. He made sure everyone was drunk. He made sure they were so drunk they couldn't even carry their own weight properly.

He watched as his father vomited out his siblings, one by one. Then, they ran. They ran all the way to Delphi, where they began plotting the demise of their father.

It had taken seven decades to actually overthrow Kronos.

Seven. He hated that number. It was the number of times Kronos had impregnated Rhea, their mother. He had raped her many more times. Percy closed his eyes, not wanting to think about it.

He remembered Kronos's last words before they sliced his body into millions of pieces. He remembered it clear as day.

 _'You shall be thrown out like an outcast by your own brothers. They shall abandon you, like you abandoned ME! You will suffer for millennia as you fade out of the myths. No one shall remember your name!'_

He entered the building and swiped a card on the slot next to the elevator doors. The light above the doors turned red and the doors opened, revealing a really small elevator. Probably can fit only one or two people at the most.

He stepped into it and pressed the only button there. The doors closed and the elevator started going up. But when it reached the topmost floor of the building, it suddenly shot towards the sky at light speed. Literally. He could feel that it was faster than even flashing around.

For a brief moment he felt a searing pain as the molecules in his body could not cope with the sudden acceleration from car speed to light speed.

But when the lift stopped, the pain stopped. He felt a little light headed, but other than that he was fine.

He looked around. It was far by the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Gleaming white marble pillars that seemed to go on endlessly. He walked out of the elevator and nearly fell down in surprise.

The floor was see-through. He didn't recognise what was even used for the floor. He walked across it anyway, marvelling at the giant statues of the primordial gods.

In the distance, he could see a ginormous palace. It didn't have any walls though. It reminded Perseus of the Parthenon, with the pillars on the outside. Though this one was far bigger and far better.

He walked towards the palace, but he was stopped by two guards, who crossed their spears, blocking his path. He looked over at them. They wore armour, like the ones in the medieval times, but he knew they were made out of metals he knew not about. The metal was a gleaming black colour that sucked the light around it, just like his sword.

He inclined his head to them in a polite manner. "I wish to have an audience with Lord Ouranos, he had summoned me. Please inform him that Perseus, son of Rhea is here to see him."

Normally he would have rudely ordered the guards to step aside, but he wasn't keen on making himself an enemy of the King of the Primordial Gods.

One of the guards nodded and left them, going inside the palace, which he deciphered as the Great Hall of the Primordials. His mother had told him many stories about the primordials. After all, she had been there when they ruled.

Percy had always thought that the majority of the primordials were forces of good. Only some, like Gaea and Nyx etc. were a bit on the wrong side. They weren't necessarily evil, but they were enemies of Olympus and they supported the enemies of Olympus. And from his experience, enemies of Olympus meant enemies of the world.

A few moments later, the same guard came running back, his armour slightly jingling as he ran. "Lord Ouranos will see you now." The guard said.

Percy nervously stepped into the Great Hall. He was right to be nervous. These were beings of ungodly amounts of power. They weren't just gods of those domains. They were the domains itself. That alone scared the shit out of him.

But he didn't show his fear. He put on a stoic mask and stepped into the center of the Hall. He noticed the primordials sitting on their thrones. Each being was massive in size, being at least eighty feet height wise. And that was while sitting.

He looked at all the primordials, careful not to look them in the eye of course. He noticed two spots where thrones should have been were empty. _Gaea and Nyx._

He saw Tartarus, whom he was rather familiar with. He had met the primordial on several occasions, due to him being in the pit and all. But he hadn't seen the others.

He saw Chronos, the personification of time itself. The primordial looked like an old man, with a flowing white beard, like a saint's, and golden robes that fluttered aimlessly. He held a long staff in his hand, which pulsed with power. At the head of the staff, there was a golden glow, which was in a spherical shape.

He saw a man who seemed to be made of complete darkness. The body of the primordial couldn't decide on what form to stay in. The darkness just vaguely resembled a humanoid shaped male. _Erebus, Primordial God of Darkness and Shadows._ He thought dryly.

To the right of Erebus, there was a man who looked just like Apollo. His facial features and body was different, but he gave the same aura and had the same cocky smirk. But this primordial emitted so much light that Percy had to look away. _Aether, Primordial God of Light and the Upper Air._

Further towards the center, he saw a large humanoid male who was made purely out of water. Pure water to be exact. Sometimes a little water would slosh away from the body, splashing the floor below. _Hydros, Primordial God of Water and Liquids._

Next to Hydros, a man who resembled Poseidon sat there. Only difference being that he wore battle armour instead of Hawaiian beach clothes. Unsurprisingly, he too held a similar trident. _Pontus, Primordial God of the Oceans._

On the other side, Percy saw a man he knew he couldn't compete with for looks. Instantly he knew who this was. _Eros, Primordial God of Love and Procreation(Sex basically)._

Beside him, he saw a primordial he didn't recognise. Probably because said primordial was the most normal looking out of all of them.

Finally, he looked straight. There, sitting on a magnificent throne of the finest jewels, was the King of the Primordial Gods. Lord Ouranos himself, sitting there in all his glory. His skin was light blue in colour and his hair pure white, like clouds. Percy noted how it shifted colours to stormy grey and back. The primordial held a great spear, which somehow reminded Percy of Odin's spear Gungnir in the Thor movie.

He walked in front of the King and knelt before the personification of the sky himself. Now, Percy never ever knelt. In his entire immortal life, he had never knelt, or shown this much respect. It greatly hampered his pride. But he wasn't a fool. These primordials could destroy his very existence with a snap of their fingers. After all, an ant does not have a quarrel with a boot.

"Lord Ouranos, you summoned me?"

He heard a booming laugh that seemed to echo through the world. Lightning flashed and he heard thunder rumbling in the distance.

He looked up, confused.

Ouranos waved his hand, motioning him to stand. **"I am not my son, godling. You need not kneel before me, or anyone on this council. Contrary to popular belief, we do not demand respect. You can call us by our names. Of course, there is a limit for everything."**

Ouranos's voice sounded like thunder rumbling, which perfectly fit his domain.

"Lord Ouran-"

Ouranos interrupted, cutting him off. **"What did I just say about the 'Lord' rubbish?"**

Percy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Okay, Ouranos. What did you wish to speak to me about?"

Ouranos leaned back in his throne. **"As you are aware, godling, my son has escaped your prison."**

Percy's heart stopped beating. _Oh shit!_ He thought. Ouranos would kill him for letting his traitorous son roam free. He somehow looked at the great primordial without cowering in fear.

But if Ouranos wanted to kill him, he didn't seem in a hurry to do so. The primordial king thought for a minute, before speaking again.

 **"I am also aware of your predicament with the fact that many odds are against you."**

Percy merely nodded his head.

 **"As such, I have one advice."**

"What is it?"

 **"Ally yourselves with the Romans ... and take this."**

* * *

Percy sighed as he pressed the button for the top floor. He waited as the lift went up. But when the doors opened again, he stepped out with a shocked expression.

His penthouse. Utterly destroyed. Almost all the furniture was in pieces. Windows were broken, the steel rods front the railings were ripped off.

Electricity sparked from various machinery. Some of the planks from the wooden floor were gone and the marble floor had cracks in it. The walls had charred black spots.

Percy's face morphed into anger.

"Who the fuck sent the monsters?"

The demigods nodded their heads sideways. They had no idea.

Percy sighed. He snapped his fingers and slowly but surely, everything started to become normal. The walls and floors fixed themselves and the furniture floated back to their places. The shards of glass rearranged themselves like a jigsaw puzzle. The charred marks of lightning faded away. The cracks in the marble floor vanished.

"I'm afraid our trip must be cut short. We have to go somewhere else."

The demigods frowned.

"Where?" Annabeth asked.

"You'll see. Pack up. Holiday's over."

Luke grumbled. "The one time we get a break and monsters trash it within a day."

"Life of a demigod." Thalia muttered.

Nico quietly moved away, starting to pack his bags.

* * *

"So...where are we going again?" Annabeth asked.

Percy sighed. He looked behind from the driver's seat. "Okay guys. Time to let you in on a little secret that your parents have been keeping from you."

The demigods frowned. They wondered what possible secret the gods could have kept from them.

Percy took a deep breath. "You aren't the only camp out there."

The reaction was instantaneous. Thalia stood from her seat, forgetting they were in a car, banging her head to the roof. "WHAT!?" She exclaimed loudly.

Percy rubbed his temples before continuing. "You are Greek right ... and you must have heard of the Romans? ..."

The gears in their heads were turning, their brains processing the implications. Annabeth's face morphed into one of disgust. "You mean those pathetic knock off versions of us?"

Percy sighed. It really wasn't a good idea to involve Greeks and Romans together, but Ouranos was right. Romans had a larger army, and was more co-ordinated. They would be of great help in the war.

"Yes, those people."

Annabeth's glare further intensified. "Those sons of b*tches who STOLE my mother's statue?"

"Uhh ... yeah?"

"AAARGH!" Annabeth yelled, throwing her knife so it embedded in the shotgun seat, where it nearly impaled Luke.

"ANNIE!" He exclaimed. "I NEARLY DIED!"

"Sorry" She mumbled, before retrieving her knife.

"Okay now." Percy said. "We've reached. Please be on your best behaviour."

Percy glanced east. Just as he'd figured, a hundred yardsuphill the highway cut through the base of the cliff. Two tunnel entrances, one for each direction of traffic, stared down like eye sockets of a giant skull. In the middle, where the nose would have been, a cement wall jutted from the hillside, with a metal door like the entrance to a bunker.

It might have been a maintenance tunnel. That's probably what mortals thought, if they noticed the door at all. But they couldn't see through the Mist. Percy knew the door was more than that.

Two kids in armor flanked the entrance. They wore a bizarre mix of plumed Roman helmets, breastplates, scabbards, blue jeans, purple T-shirts, and white athletic shoes. The guard on the right looked like a girl, though it was hard to tell for sure with all the armor. The one on the left was a stocky guy with a bow and quiver on his back. Both kids held long wooden staffs with iron spear tips, like old-fashioned harpoons.

Percy stopped the car in front of the tunnel. He opened the door, and got out of the car. The demigods too, got off, dragging their suitcases with them. Once everyone was out of the car, he snapped his fingers and the car disappeared.

"HALT!" The stocky kid yelled.

Percy calmly stepped forward. "Inform your Praetor, that a group of demigods from Olympus is here."

The girl's eyes widened and she ran inside the tunnel.

Around ten minutes later, a small group of heavily armed group of soldiers came from the tunnel, making a formation.

Luke snorted. "Jeez, are they always this paranoid?"

"Shut up." Thalia mumbled.

One of the girls made a choking sound, pointedly looking at Percy. "You?"

She was obviously a leader. She wore a regal purple cloak over her armor. Her chest was decorated with medals. She must have looked about Percy's physical form's age, with dark, piercing eyes and long black hair. The demigods didn't recognise her, but the girl stared at Percy as if she'd seen him in her nightmares. And she probably had too.

Percy grinned maliciously, an evil aura spreading from his body, blanketing the area like a dark shadow. "Yes...me...,Lucifer bloody Morningstar!"

The demigods got the hint. They didn't know his real name. Annabeth silently nudged them, to make sure they called him that in the camp.

They were led into the camp, and then they forgot to breathe. Spread out at their feet was a bowl-shaped valley several miles wide. The basin floor was rumpled with smaller hills, golden plains, and stretches of forest. A small clear rivercut a winding course from a lake in the center and around the perimeter, like a capital G.

The geography could've been anywhere in northern California—live oaks and eucalyptus trees, gold hills and blue skies. That big inland mountain—Mount Diablo—rose in the distance, right where it should be.

In the center of the valley, nestled by the lake, was a small city of white marble buildings with red-tiled roofs. Some had domes and columned porticoes, like national monuments. Others looked like palaces, with golden doors and large gardens. He could see an open plaza with freestanding columns, fountains, and statues. A five-story-tall Roman coliseum gleamed in the sun, next to a long oval arena like a racetrack.

Across the lake to the south, another hill was dotted with even more impressive buildings—temples, they guessed. Several stone bridges crossed the river as it wound through the valley, and in the north, a long line of brickwork arches stretched from the hills into the town. Luke thought it looked like an elevated train track. Then he realized it must be an aqueduct.

The strangest part of the valley was right below them. About two hundred yards away, just across the river, was some sort of military encampment. It was about a quarter mile square, with earthen ramparts on all four sides, the tops lined with sharpened spikes. Outside the walls ran a dry moat, also studded with spikes. Wooden watchtowers rose at each corner, manned by sentries with oversized, mounted crossbows. Purple banners hung from the towers. A wide gateway opened on the far side of camp, leading toward the city. A narrower gate stood closed on the riverbank side. Inside, the fortress bustled with activity: dozens of kids going to and from barracks, carrying weapons, polishing armour. They heard the clank of hammers at a forge and smelled meat cooking over a fire.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter."

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* * *

 **Here are the Poll Results. It is officially over. The winner is Hestia.**

 **Hestia: 20**  
 **Thalia: 11**  
 **Artemis: 5**  
 **Annabeth: 18**  
 **Harem: 4**

 **Wow. At first even I thought it would be Annabeth who would win, I mean, that's what it looked like. And then, I checked the poll and woah. Hestia was leading.**

 **And I feel it's better to keep Hestia. I don't see Annabeth fitting with him in this story. I'm so sorry Percabeth fans, but ... it has to be done. I hope you guys don't ditch the story for this.**


	17. THE END!

**For those of you who've been waiting for ages for an update, I'm terribly sorry. It's not coming, ever.**

 **I've decided to abandon this story since it's not going the way I hoped it would. The story started alright for me but then I realised that I started writing Percy as a demigod instead of a god and also if you guys didn't notice then entire paragraphs were straight from the original books.**

 **Thanks to a couple of readers (I'm not revealing names for security reasons. I don't want people threatening each other online) I've realised the atrocity I've committed. If you guys want to ready my other stories then please do. Those are far far better than this.**

 **Reviewers who pointed out mistakes, thanks for doing so. Because of you guys I was able to realise my mistakes and correct them in other stories.**

 **I hope you guys will forgive me for this story as it's my very first story I've ever written.**

 **My other stories in progress are -**

 **Immortal Warrior** **\- This is the typical 'Perseus from the ancient times' but here he's a demigod and here he's not as old as some other famous demigods. (He's born in 500 B.C.E)**

 **The Battle of The Five Armies** **\- Even though this isn't in the crossover section, this story actually follows up after BoO and it's a crossover with the DC Extended Universe. I promise you there isn't a better PJO/DC crossover.**

 **Both stories are still in their 6th or 7th chapter so pls be patient. Thank you for being co-operative.**


	18. Good News

Remember I told you guys I'll be discontinuing this?

Well, I still am, but I've now decided to rewrite it instead.

The title is gonna be ... well I haven't really decided a title, I was hoping you guys would tell me.


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